Boozin' and Cruisin' through the East Midlands (Part 5)

 Day 9 - Sunday

This is the view from the canal as you leave Burton, heading south on the Trent & Mersey Canal.

Next stop Alrewas...passing through several locks along the way. This stretch of the Trent & Mersey is quite pleasant, but there is the constant presence of the A38 that's never far away.

There are three pubs in Alrewas, but it is a few years since we stopped there. This time, we tied up at the first avaialble mooring and headed into the village. The first pub we came across was the William IV, a place we haven't visited for many, many years.

It's a comfortable village pub that was almost full when we arrived. We were informed that there was no space for us to eat Sunday lunch, but we could sit down and drink in the small area reserved for drinkers. However, the landlord did his best to retain us as his customers by suggesting that, if we waited about 45 minutes, he was sure that at least one table would become available...and he was right. One couple left after their meal giving us the opportunity to have the best value Sunday lunch you'll find anywhere (which explained exactly why the pub was so popular!)

This wasn't a carvery, but a plated full Sunday roast was a mere £5.99p, delivered to the table...I almost told him that he should charge a couple of quid more (and it would still be good value!), but decided against it! Certainly one of the best customer service experiences of the holiday!

Then it was back to Peggy Ellen for a somewhat drizzly afternoon trip to Fradley Junction (not the right time for the Swan Inn) and along the Coventry Canal to Hopwas and the Tame Otter.

We chose the Tame Otter because we knew that they served food till 8pm on a Sunday (it's a Vintage Inn) and it's always reasonable.

Day 10 - Monday

Since it was fully opened in 1789, the Coventry Canal has always been a busy route as it links the Trent & Mersey to the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal and the Oxford Canal giving a link to the Grand Union Canal to London. In the modern era it is still a busy waterway!

Since leaving the River Trent, the traffic had steadily gotten busier and the Coventry Canal was as busy as we could remember it ever being. It is a canal of few locks, but the two at Glascote can add hours to a day's journey. This time we were fourth in the queue, but at the head of that queue was a pair of traditional boats which were being hauled through the locks by a husband and wife team and their two young children. A magnificent sight, but an extra hour (plus) on our journey.

So, rather than pushing on to Polesworth, we stopped at the Gate Inn in Amington.

A pleasant boozer with a perfect location for us boaters as we moored up right outside the pub. It was very quiet (Monday lunchtime!), but both the beer/lager and food were very welcome.

Atherstone was to be our evening stop, but we didn't know at this stage whether we'd have to stop after six locks of the Atherstone flight, or whether we could make it through all eleven before darkness fell.

We were in luck - all of the boats we'd been following most of the afternoon either stopped or turned around...and the traditional pair from earlier had also moored up for the night. Once we'd entered the flight there was a fairly steady stream of boats coming down meaning less work and a quicker passage for us.

Mooring above the top lock at Atherstone was quite competitive, but we found a spot about ¼ mile from the bridge. So, we headed into town for the Market Square.

Considering it was a Monday evening, The Angel was doing a very nice trade and we struggled to find a seat...but the Citra was very nice! After a couple of pints we went in search of food. I think it's fair to say that Atherstone isn't a place for gourmet dining (we've had previous bad experiences!), but we managed to find an Indian restaurant which was perfectly adequate!

Then we moved on to the next pub we came across - the Black Horse (and a bit more Bass porn for the afficionados!)

A cosy little pub that we've been unable to get in previously, but it wasn't very busy on a Monday evening (despite/because of having hand pulled Bass available!!)

...and there I must leave you again! Our journey is nearing it's conclusion, but I didn't think it would occupy this many posts!

(To be continued)

#277 The Three Horseshoes, Winkwell, Hemel Hempstead : 1992 to 2019

Having no new pubs to report on in 2020 and having exhausted the interesting local watering holes, I thought I'd take a while away from blogging. But now, the pub world is waking up from its long slumber and my fellow bloggers have hit the ground running, so I decided to get back on the horse myself.

What better place to restart than this little gem tucked away on the Grand Union Canal near to Hemel Hempstead?

This was on the evening of Thursday 1st October 1992 towards the end of our first journey up and down the Grand Union in the days when our boat Emma Jane was moored down south. It had been an eventful trip encompassing floods and a fire in the engine room. The pub was very close to the boatyard from where we had begun our journey, but our final destination was another day away at Cowley Peachey.

Back in the early 1990's, The Three Horseshoes was a superb country pub that was both a local and did very good food.

Our next visit was at lunchtime on Saturday 18th September 1993 when we visited before setting off from our new moorings at Winkwell.

Not surprisingly, the pub was completely unchanged.

Another year later and again, prior to picking up the boat we 'retired' to The Three Horseshoes for lunch - it was Saturday 27th August 1994.

Nothing new to report, which is the reason I kept taking pictures from different angles!

The last year that Emma Jane was moored at Winkwell was in 1995 and we made two visits to the pub. First was on the afternoon of Saturday 3rd June 1995 before we set off on a journey that took us to Lime House Basin in London.

 Our final visit was at lunchtime on Saturday 26th August 1995 as we set off from Winkwell for the final time to take Emma Jane to her new moorings at Lapworth.

Still unchanged and one of the best canalside pubs along that stretch of the Grand Union Canal.

Over the next years, our canal adventures didn't take us as far south as Winkwell until 2019, when we undertook a massive journey down the River Thames and back up the Grand Union Canal, starting and finishing at Napton.

This is how The Three Horseshoes looked at lunchtime on Monday 5th August 2019.

Just a few changes in 24 years, but nothing unexpected nor too untoward! As you would expect it is now more of a gastropub. Whilst the cosy, proper pub feel is long gone it still feels like an old establishment and has a selection of real ales...so all is not lost.

I'd like to tell you about the pub in more detail, but my stay was fairly short lived. I had to pop into Hemel Hempstead to acquire a new phone as my old one wasn't working since I fell into the canal a couple of days earlier!

I can report, though, that The Three Horseshoes has survived coronavirus and has reopened, according to their Facebook page. 

Kings Langley, Hertfordshire : 1993 to 2019

As it has been a while since my last post, I thought that I'd treat you to a two-for-one offer to start the New Year.

Kings Langley was never one of our regular stopping places back when Emma Jane was moored down south on the Grand Union, but on each occasion that we visited, we've been to the same two pubs!

#272 Rose & Crown

Our first visit was on the lunchtime of Saturday 26th June 1993 (the day after our first visit to #271 The White Bear) and, as you can see from the picture it was a sunny day and the Rose & Crown was quite busy!

I remember very little about the pub itself, but I have a feeling that this was the day of the village/town's summer festival, so everywhere was busy.

We returned for an evening visit on Saturday 3rd June 1995 at the start of a week long trip that took us all the way to Limehouse Basin in London.

The pub was little changed from two years previously, but it was much less busy!

We hadn't been back that way until the evening of Sunday 4th August 2019.

On a structural level it is remarkably unchanged, but it was decorated very much in the modern pastel shades style. Also, despite the signage declaring it to be a Freehouse it is in fact one of Mitchells and Butlers Premium Country Pubs (I've since discovered) which are a bit more upmarket from their Vintage Inns in the style of food. We did have a pleasant meal, but the pub was a bit quiet so we moved on (as we had on all previous visits!) to the nearest pub.

#273 The Saracen's Head

This pub is smaller and much more of a local and has remained so throughout the years - firstly in 1993.

Then again in 1995.

And finally in 2019.

Again, another pub that is structurally unchanged and inside it still felt more like a proper pub than the Rose & Crown which is as it should be, The Saracen's Head being independently run.

One final thing to note - the two 'gentlemen' crossing the road in 1993 were still lurking outside the pub in 2019 and I'd have to suggest that they may not be 'structurally unchanged' by the passing years! (But they bought me a beer, so all's well with the world!)