#290 Red Lion, Cropredy, Oxfordshire : 1998 to 2021

Our first ever visit to Cropredy was on the evening of Wednesday 2nd September 1998 on our way to Oxford by boat for the first time. On that evening we paid our first visit to the Red Lion (as well as the Brasenose Arms - #286)

We also stopped there on the way back on the evening of Tuesday 8th September 1998.

There are only two things I remember about the pub. Firstly that it was a cosy village local that did good food and, secondly, that there seemed to be no mention of Fairport Convention, nor the annual folk festival...anywhere! (Not quite sure what I did expect, but there were no pictures/posters at all!)

Our next jaunt along the Oxford Canal took us back to Cropredy on the evening of Monday 27th May 2002 as part of a short trip to Banbury and back.

Hardly any changes...even the same flags were hanging outside!

The next time was at lunchtime on Tuesday 24th August 2004 in the early part of our journey that had started out from Oxford.

Again, not much appears to have changed although the flags have gone (and the house that was 'Sold' last time appears to be back up for sale!)

It was a long time before we ventured back down the Oxford Canal, but our next stop at Cropredy was on the evening of Friday 26th July 2019 - the first evening of our journey that would take us down the River Thames.

At least, this time, the hanging sign has changed and the bloke in the picture is wearing different clothes (and there's still a house for sale!)

Our most recent visits were on the evenings of Tuesday 18th May 2021 and Monday 24th May 2021.

The first visit was very fleeting. The pandemic restrictions had only just relaxed to allow for indoor eating and drinking, but as we hadn't booked, there was no room for us to even just have a drink! (We'd intended to eat in the Brasenose Arms, but it was the chef's night off!)

On our return from Oxford, we made the decision to book in advance, so there were no problems this time. I can also report that the Red Lion is still a cosy local village pub that does very good food!

#288 Old Bookbinders, Jericho, Oxford : 2004 to 2021

Still catching up with pubs from our recent jaunt down the Oxford Canal, although the Old Bookbinders is a pub we've only visited twice in almost 17 years.

The first visit was at lunchtime on Saturday 21st August 2004, but I have little recollection about it other than it was a pleasant backstreet corner pub.

As I recall, we'd had lunch in a nearby Lebanese restaurant and were embarking on a mini-crawl for the afternoon as we were not setting sail again until Sunday morning. I suspect we had the one pint and moved on.

So, moving on just the 17 years (almost) and we're back at the Old Bookbinders on the evening of Saturday 21st May 2021.

We'd spent the somewhat damp afternoon on a small pub crawl through the centre of Oxford and were planning a little wander through the streets of Jericho for the evening. However, we managed to snaffle the last available tabe, close to the bar, and so we stayed for the rest of the evening!

The Old Bookbinders is now much more a foodie place, but for the first time on this trip it actually felt like we were in a pub as it was as full as social distancing regulations allowed.

#287 The Boat Inn, Thrupp, Oxfordshire : 1998 to 2021

 We're back on the Oxford Canal and another pub that has hardly seems to have changed over the years, but look a little closer and you'll find the differences!

The Boat in Thrupp has appeared in "Inspector Morse" and there is a 'Morse Room' with pictures from the episode on the walls. Our first visit was at lunchtime on Friday 4th September 1998.

Back in 1998 it was still a quite upmarket dining pub, but still a pub nonetheless. It was a Morrell's pub, but research indicates that 1998 was the year that the brewery closed (after a family dispute) and the tied houses were bought by an American entrepreneur.

We didn't return until the evening of Sunday 28th July 2019 - on the surface it was largely unchanged.

However, on closer inspection you can see that it is now The Boat Inn and is a Greene King pub! After 19 years, I don't recall how much it had changed inside (not a lot probably), but it was definitely more of a restaurant than a pub.

Our most recent visit was another evening session on Saturday 22nd May 2021.

This picture better shows the changes from 1998 which, apart from the signage, are quite minimal. We were lucky to get a mooring close to the pub as, on the way down to Oxford there was no room at all, but on our return we managed to get a spot close enough that even I couldn't moan about the walk to the pub!

Yes, that's our vessel...the good ship Peggy Ellen...moored as close as you can get to The Boat Inn!

It will be a good number of years before we're back here as Peggy Ellen is moving back to Kings Bromley Marina in a few weeks time making journeys down the Oxford Canal less likely!

#286 Brasenose Arms, Cropredy, Oxfordshire : 1998 to 2021

 Trips along the Southern Oxford Canal are quite rare for us and so the first time I ever visited Cropredy was on the evening of Wednesday 2nd September 1998 - just 18 years into my canal adventuring!

There are two pubs in Cropredy and on this first visit, we sampled both, but I'll concentrate on the Brasenose Arms this time.

Do I have any recollection as to what it was like? Err...no! Looks like it was an M & B pub from the lantern above the entrance.

Our next visit was a lunchtime stop on Tuesday 24th August 2004 on a trip that started out in Oxford.

It would appear, from my image library, that we again visited both pubs in the village. We probably ate in the Red Lion and had a final pint in the Brasenose Arms before setting off again.

All new exterior signage and it would appear to be one of Enterprise Inns stable of pubs (M & B lantern has also gone).

Our most recent visit was on Tuesday 18th May 2021, the day after the second relaxation that allowed eating and drinking INSIDE pubs and restaurants.

On this occasion, I chose the Brasenose Arms because it had been serving a large garden of customers with food since the first relaxation to outdoor drinking/dining and so, I reasoned, they'd be best set up to serve us a decent evening meal. If only I'd paid more attention to the website, which clearly stated (I saw later) that Tuesdays were the chef's days off. So, no food, also they'd taken the decision not to open the pub, just garden service!

Well, we tried the Red Lion, but not surprisingly, it was fuly booked. So, it was back to the Brasenose Arms for an evening of not-cold-enough lager, crisps, nuts and scratchings! Could've been worse, at least we managed a few pints!

From the outside, the pub appears to have changed little, but it is no longer part of Enterprise Inns, who are now part of Stonegate pubs. As far as I can ascertain it is now privately owned.

#285 Ye Olde Reine Deer Inn, Banbury, Oxfordshire : 1998 to 2021

 One of the joys of visiting Banbury on the Oxford Canal is getting the chance to revisit Ye Olde Reine Deer Inn.

Our first visit was at lunchtime on Tuesday 8th September 1998 as part of our return journey from Oxford.

Not my best composed picture, but it shows off the pub quite nicely. I remember it being a proper pub that served food and somewhere that was worth revisiting.

We duly returned four years later at lunchtime on Tuesday 28th May 2002.

At first glance it looks to be unchanged (apart from the window boxes), but the sign has been replaced with a subtle change of name to Ye Olde Reindeer Inn and the removal of the supporting beam.

It wasn't too long before our next return on the evening of Monday 23rd August 2004.

Still the same pub sign and still the same old unspoilt pub!

It was to be a good number of years before we returned to Banbury, this time en route to the River Thames at lunchtime on Saturday 27th July 2019.

Not surprisingly, the signage had changed in the intervening 15 years and the pub had reverted back to being Ye Olde Reine Deer Inn. With the added bonus that the sign is now parallel with the (now pedestrianised) street below! Inside, the pub was largely as we remembered it.

It was only a couple of years later that we returned (twice, both lunchtimes) on Wednesday 19th May 2021 and Monday 24th May 2021.

Our first visit included my first drink inside a pub for many months! It was very quiet inside on both occasions, but it is still a wonderful pub.

#284 Three Goats Heads, Oxford : 1998 to 2021

This will only be a short entry, but it is a proper pub and well worth a visit...especially if you like Sam Smith's.

Our first visit was on the evening of Saturday 5th September 1998 and, as it was quite late, this was my only shot of the pub.

I have little recollection of the pub other than I remembered it for more than just it's unusual name. I recalled that it was a good, proper pub, but that's about all!

So, on our recent visit to Oxford, the Three Goats Heads was one of the pubs I wanted  to revisit. However, I had no idea where it was located, but in this day and age of Google Maps, that wasn't a problem. We'd finished lunch in the Four Candles (#263) and, after consulting the map app on my phone, I realised that it was very close to us. This how it looked on the rainy afternoon of Friday 21st May 2021.
 

This was the first Saturday that indoor opening of pubs had been allowed, but it was very quiet inside. (Probably because of the cold, wet weather, a lack of tourists/shoppers and a reluctance to go out!)

I'm not a fan of Old Brewery Bitter, so I had a pint of the Double Four Lager, which was OK, but it's no Carling! The décor was typical of other Sam Smith's pubs I've been to - dark wood and lots of framed photos - not particularly to my taste as it all seems to be a bit too regimented. (I like the more random, higgledy-piggledy look of old school boozers!) Still, there are many worse.

We chatted a bit to the landlady who informed us that it has been a Sam Smith's pub since the mid 1980's. 

If you can find it, the Three Goats Heads is well worth a visit, especially if you're a Sam Smith's fan!

Canal Cruising in Continuing COVID Times (Part 2)

 You left us last time as we were staggering back to Peggy Ellen after a 3/4 pub lunchtime session in a cool and damp Oxford. This gave us a couple of hours rest before we headed out into Jericho for the evening.

This was our mooring on the Oxford Canal and, after a short stroll over the cut, this (below) was to be our residence for the evening.

It was 7:30pm and, fortunately there was a small table available, right in front of the bar, so table service worked well for us. It is now as much a French restaurant as a pub, but they didn't mind that we only wanted to drink. We did get quite comfortable as it felt like we were back in a proper pub with some atmosphere for the first time on our trip.

Our plan had been to explore more of the pubs in Jericho, but we got so comfortable that we stayed all night...even pushing the boat out for some Garlic & Chilli Chips and a Tomato & Onion Salad to keep us sustained!

Next morning we were up and ready to resume our journey back to Napton, but there was the little matter of turning the boat. Our previous trips had been in the 35ft long Emma Jane which could be turned easily without leaving the canal. Peggy Ellen is 57ft long which necessitates the use of Isis Lock to descend onto a backwater of the Thames, turn the boat and negotiate the lock again to get back onto the canal.

This was our first real queue for a lock on the trip; we were fourth in line which is quite ironic as we were moored so close to it overnight! The delay was exacerbated by one boat not following instructions which resulted in them having to be towed away from the weir on Castle Mill Stream! To be honest, if the instructions hadn't been pointed out to me I'd probably have done the same thing!

This delay meant that by the time we reached The Highwayman we were too late for lunch as there was no food served between 2pm and 6pm!

So, it was another session of nuts and crisps washed down with cold lager. Not ideal, but we survived! It is also an hotel and it had fairly modern décor inside. By the time we'd downed our third pint it was way too late to expect to get to Lower Heyford and find a seat, so we made a momentous decision to have a 10 minute afternoon cruise to The Boat Inn at Thrupp. This time there was plenty of mooring space (which was filled within half-an-hour of us pulling up)!

Another long walk to the pub! We'd booked in advance because The Boat Inn is really a restaurant these days and a bit of a tourist destination as it has featured in "Inspector Morse" - indeed, we were seated in the Morse Room. This was another pub that closed when most people had gone home. Unsurprisingly we were last out! Not overly busy for a Saturday night; a combination of the weather and the pandemic restrictions I suspect.

 

Next destination, The Bell at Lower Heyford for Sunday lunch (booked in advance!)

The journey had taken somewhat longer than anticipated, but after ringing the pub from one of the locks, they held onto our table. It was quite busy and the Sunday lunch was served differently to anywhere else I've encountered before. Essentially, you bought a sharing platter for two (for £28-95p) and that was your Sunday lunch! It seemed to work and it was all cooked and presented well.

Our next stop, for Sunday evening, was Aynho Wharf. We knew that there was no way we'd get there before the 6pm Sunday closing time (not to be blamed on the pandemic as this was becoming increasingly common before the plague struck!)

 

Our plan had been to get a taxi into Banbury, but after an afternoon of cold and rain followed by an increased downpour shortly after we moored our plan was abandoned. There was no point in wandering around Banbury in the rain trying to find pubs that might be open...and boy, did it rain!! So, it was an evening of beer/lager and sandwiches.

 

Next day we were back in Banbury for lunch...and no guesses for which pub we visited!

It was even quieter than before, but it was a Monday lunchtime!

Our afternoon trip to Cropredy should have been fairly uneventful, but for the first time in many a long year, I was caught outside during a hailstorm! Whilst the hailstones weren't particularly large there were moments during the downpour that I couldn't see the front of the boat from my position on the tiller. We were in a lock, so this wasn't critical!

 

At Cropredy, the sun finally reappeared giving a lovely evening glow. To avoid the problems we had on the way down to Oxford, this time we'd made a booking!

The Red Lion was fairly busy again, mostly with diners, but discovered quite a few locals in the other rooms. The food was good and the landlady (same one as on our visit in 2019) was as attentive and chatty as ever. So, again feeling close to being back to normal.

Next day brought us the final, long leg back to Napton...unless The Wharf at Fenny Compton was open. (The landlady of the Red Lion seemed to believe that it was closed!)

 

As we passed by, it looked as though she was correct.

It didn't look open, but there was someone watering flowers so it may be on the way back. However, up-to-date internet information is not to be found. So, another lunchtime of sandwiches on the move!

Another pub we passed by (that was definitely open) was The Folly at the bottom of Napton Locks.

It is many years since we last stopped at The Folly - this time it was because our mooring is only half an hour away and the King's Head is only a short walk from the marina.

...and so this is where we finished our journey.

It's fair to say that the King's Head is more restaurant than pub, but I doubt that it would have survived in it's previous incarnation just as a pub that did food.
 

So, after a week-long trip how is hospitality holding up? We didn't manage to get into as many pubs as I expected and we missed more pub sessions than I thought we would. This was partly due to the route we chose as there are long stretches of canal with no pub making the ones that have survived even busier. It was also, in part, because we'd set off the day after the restrictions had lifted.

 

It was quite an eye-opener to see the magnificent efforts taken by those pubs with outdoor space to maximise that area with some fantastically inventive structures. Hopefully they will reap the rewards from their efforts.

 

Our next trip is planned for August - will the pubs be fully open by then? I would hope so, but given the record of this government and it's loose regard for consistency, who can say?

Canal Cruising in Continuing COVID Times (Part 1)

 For our first boating trip of 2021 we waited until indoor hospitality was open again, albeit under Summer 2020 rules. Our destination was Oxford on the basis that we hadn't been there (for a good session) in a long time.

Travelling from the boat's home marina at Napton-on-the-Hill presents a bit of a dilemma as the refreshment stops between there and Cropredy (9 hours cruising away) are limited. There is The Folly which is just half an hour from the marina and The Wharf at Fenny Compton which is about 4½ hours away, about which we had no information regarding it's status.

So, it was a lunch on board without stopping!

We arrived at Cropredy in plenty of time and it was a pleasant sunny evening. There are two pubs in the village; the Brasenose Arms which had been open (outdoors) for several weeks serving food to a massive garden.

Unfortunately for us, the chef has his day off on Tuesdays, so the pub building was closed and there was no food available...only drinks were being served in the garden.

We strolled round to the Red Lion only to find, unsurprisingly, that it was fully booked and we couldn't even get a drink! So, it was back to the Brasenose for a sumptuous fare of crisps, nuts, scratchings and not cold enough lager!

So, our first pint of 2021, inside a pub, was in Ye Olde Reine Deer in Banbury.

This time we found it without too much trouble and there was no problem finding a free table. It was disappointing that it wasn't busier, but it will take time to get back to some semblance of 'normal'. As many people are noting, the full range of (Hook Norton) beers wasn't available, but there was sufficient choice for us.

For the evening we'd already booked our table at the Great Western Arms at Aynho Wharf. Even before the pandemic, this had become an upmarket gastropub, but it was remarkably quite busy.

Our table was in the Lavender Garden which is a semi-outdoor area taking maximum advantage of existing outbuildings. All-in-all, a pleasant experience.

Our lunchtime stopping place for the next day was Lower Heyford. Unfortunately, The Bell doesn't open on Thursday lunchtimes and the Barley Mow was completely closed, awaiting new management. So, this was the venue for another sumptuous lunch!

A brief stop to stock up with essentials like cheese and corned beef for a beer and sandwiches lunch on board the good ship Peggy Ellen. Then we resumed our journey south - next stop Thrupp.

Along the way we passed by former "EastEnders" actor Phil Daniels and his boat Tuppence, moored in an attractive tree lined cutting, just before we came across the sad sight of the now closed Rock of Gibraltar pub.

It's a pub that I've never actually been into...and now never will!

After miles of canal where the pubs are half-a-day's cruising apart, you get to Thrupp where there are three pubs within a 15 minute walk of each other! There were no mooring spaces outside The Boat Inn, but plenty of room outside The Jolly Boatman!

This shows how close we were moored. It is a pleasantly run pub - they managed to find us a table, the food was good, the lager cold and they pre-warned us that closing time was dependent on how busy they were. In the event, it was around 10pm when they closed the bar allowing us a relaxed drinking up period. Luckily for us, the pub's one-way system led us out through the garden/smoking shelter, almost to our front door!

 

Next stop Oxford! It was another rainy day when we moored up in Jericho and strolled along the last few hundred yards of the canal and into the city. Dreaming spires, fantastic old and characterful pubs...you've guessed it though...Wetherspoon's Four Candles was our first stop!

Amazingly there was no queue, although there weren't many free tables. We were downstairs, so the technical glitch with their app didn't affect us as we got the table service, which worked very well. After a couple of pints and lunch we moved on in search of a pub that we'd been into in 1998, but remembered little else about apart from it's name - the Three Goats Heads.

What a fine pub it is and, unexpectedly, it's a Sam Smiths boozer! I'm not a fan of Sam Smiths Old Brewery Bitter, so I was on the lager and my travelling companion went for the OBB! Sadly, it wasn't very busy - most likely a combination of the pandemic restrictions and the fact that it was rainy and cold!

Next we wanted to find a pub that neither of us could remember the name of. We knew that it was a small corner pub close to one of the colleges and that it had a magnificent collection of ties. This is when a smart phone with a map is your friend.

As they used to say in local cinema adverts, "'ere Bert, this is the place!" We stepped inside The Bear and it was seemingly unchanged except that, in these curious times, it was full...with just three people inside! Sure, we could've had a drink in the 'beer garden', but what's the point? With the current rules, I don't know how many more pubs there are in a similar situation, because that just isn't viable.

Moving on, we found a lovely little pub that we'd never been to before for our last pint of the session.

The White Horse is somewhat TARDIS like in that it goes back a long way inside which meant that there was plenty of space for us! Obviously, no-one was drinking outside, but the rain had finally begun to ease. I don't really recollect too much about the interior other than it felt like a proper town pub...and they served food as well.

By the time we'd had a pint it was almost 5pm and so time for the long stroll back to the boat to 'prepare' for our evening session. As we walked back past the 'Spoon's we could see that a queue had formed. A little further on and we came to the terminus of the Oxford Canal...only a few more steps to our mooring!

(Next time - a night out in Jericho, a 10 minute afternoon cruise between pub sessions and a river almost in flood - stay tuned for more tales of "Canal Cruising in Continuing COVID Times"!)

#275 The Sly Old Fox, Birmingham : 2000 to 2020

When visiting Chinatown in Birmingham or on a night out at the Hippodrome Theatre, The Old Fox was always a must visit pub for at least one pint. It was (and still is) a proper pub with a bar and a lounge that is populated with people from all walks of life. It's a pub I'd visited on numerous occasions before our first canal related encounter on the evening of Thursday 7th September 2000.

I suspect that it was our last pub of the evening after sampling one of the many Chinese restaurants in the vicinity.

Our next visit was on the evening of Wednesday 1st September 2004 near the end of a journey back from Oxford and a trip on the Ashby Canal.

I'm fairly sure that the interior was largely unchanged, but the outside had undergone a major redecoration.

We haven't been back on canal based visits, but over the ensuing years I've had the occasional pint (or three) with non-boating friends. The next photos, though, have been from occasions when I happened to be passing by with my camera to hand.

This one is from Thursday 21st August 2014 as I was taking pictures in the vicinity.

No discernible changes from 10 years earlier...apart from the chairs outside for the smokers!

This final picture is from late afternoon on Friday 24th January 2020 as I strolled back to my car which was parked nearby.

A complete external makeover and a name change as well to The Sly Old Fox. It has been this way for at least a few months (probably longer) but I'm fairly sure that it is largely unaltered inside.

I noticed on the first picture the name Chandlers Brewery, which I confess, I'd never heard of. Their head office is in Witton and has the same address as Uncle's Money, a pawnbroker. It would appear that Chandlers Brewery Limited was established in 1990 seemingly just to run The Old Fox. The company is still going, but I doubt that they've brewed any beer!

#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"