#274 The Crossroads, Weedon, Northamptonshire : 2005 to 2019

Considering how many times we've visited Weedon over the years, I'm surprised to find that our first (recorded) visit to The Crossroads was on the evening of Sunday 29th May 2005.

I actually have no recollection of this visit...only this photo. Obviously, back in 2005 it was part of the Chef & Brewer chain of pubs.

Fast forward to 2019 when we made THREE separate visits to The Crossroads!

First time on the evening of Friday 19th April 2019, where I had as near perfect pub Fish & Chips as I've ever had! (I'm almost always tempted by pub Fish & Chips and, almost every time I succumb, I'm disappointed...this time not!)

After leaving Weedon we went to Northampton, but retuned on Sunday 21st April 2019.

Having explored the other half of Weedon (and found no food service - it was, after all, Easter Sunday) we managed to get to The Crossroads in time for a bite to eat.

Our third (and final) visit of the year was on the evening of Thursday 8th August 2019.

This was towards the end of our epic trip to Oxford, down the River Thames to Brentford and back home up the Grand Union Canal - sadly, the Fish & Chips wasn't as good as before (when will I learn!).

It is interesting to note the change of livery for the Chef & Brewer chain, but as I also discovered via Wikipedia, the Chef & Brewer chain itself has undergone quite a few changes over the years.

To summarise - "Grand Metropolitan, which later formed part of Diageo, sold the estate that became Chef & Brewer pubs to Scottish & Newcastle in 1993 in a part cash, part debentures deal of £708 million. 

 In 2003, Scottish & Newcastle auctioned off the Chef & Brewer chain, which was acquired by the Spirit Group. 

In 2005 the Spirit Group was acquired by Punch Taverns. 

 In 2011 the Chef & Brewer chain became part of Spirit Pub Company plc following its demerger from Punch Taverns. 

The Spirit Pub Company plc was acquired by Greene King in June 2015"

#268 Plume of Feathers, Weedon Bec, Northamptonshire : 2001 to 2019

Back in 2001 we visited Weedon Bec twice on our journey to Aylesbury and back. On the second visit we ventured into the lower half of the village where we made our first visit to the Plume of Feathers.

This was on the evening of Tuesday 4th September 2001 and I don't recall much about the pub.

With Peggy Ellen being moved to Napton our first opportunity to revisit Weedon Bec came on our Easter outing to Northampton and back. Again, it was on the return journey that we decided to venture into Lower Weedon and we popped into the Plume of Feathers.

This was on the evening of Sunday 21st April 2019. The pub is a standard village local style boozer, with most people being in the garden as the weather at Easter was remarkably warm.

In the intervening 18 years the exterior decoration had changed markedly, but the building itself is remarkably unmodified. It was good to see that it was still there and doing a reasonable trade.

#259 Carlsberg Brewery, Northampton : 1982 to 2019

Have you ever had one of those occasions when a memory that you are convinced is true, turns out to be completely mistaken?

In my defence, it was 37 years ago, but on our recent trip to Northampton, via the Northampton Arm of the Grand Union Canal, I was 100% convinced that my 1982 picture of the Carlsberg Brewery had been taken from this viewpoint.

This was taken on the morning of Sunday 21st April 2019 (Easter Sunday) as we headed away from Northampton back up to the main line of the Grand Union Canal.

However, when I returned home and dug out my earlier picture, this was the viewpoint from the evening of Saturday 28th August 1982.

In reality, that view is probably no longer available with the growth of so many trees and bushes in the decades that have passed. The main building hasn't changed over the years, but there were signs of expansion when we got onto the river.

The view from the centre of the River Nene in Northampton is, superficially, little changed, but how I wished that I'd taken photos of the decaying industrial landscape in 1982 to contrast wth all the residential building that has taken its place.