Boozin' and Cruisin' through the East Midlands (Part 4)

 Day 7 - Friday

Leaving Nottingham meant that we were now officially heading back to the marina - first stop Trent Lock for lunch. Again we passed by the Boat & Horses in Beeston and again it wasn't the right time to stop, being about 10:30am. Once we exited Beeston Lock onto the main channel of the River Trent we discovered just how windy it was that day. It was so windy that our 'life saver' ring blew off the roof despite being laid down flat. Hopefully, this gives some idea of the wind when we moored at Trent Lock.

This time we decided to visit the Steamboat for lunch for a change.

Considering it was now a Friday, the Steamboat was still much less busy than the Trent Lock had been 24 hours earlier. 

It soon became apparent why. The food is more basic (a plus in my book!) and both food and drinks were cheaper than in the Trent Lock, but everything else was just a bit off. I've always liked the quirky décor in the Steamboat, but it looked tired and unloved. It's a family run place and whilst the landlady was left on her own behind the bar (occasionally disappearing to take food orders to the kitchen!) her husband (I assume!) was watching telly with his mates in the corner. Sadly, I've witnessed this scenario too many times and it always results in disappointing service, a drop off in clientele and eventually going out of business - all in a place that should be raking it in!

Still, we'd had our fill and set off towards the Trent & Mersey Canal for a relatively uneventful trip to Swarkestone, passing through Sawley and Shardlow...apart from me (as steerer for the afternoon) invoking the wrath of a fellow boater just outside Shardlow. He'd stopped to help re-moor a boat that had gotten loose and drifted across the cut. I didn't realise this (until I was told later!) so when he tried to pull out just as we were getting to his position, I naturally didn't let him out!

He really sounded off at me and, once I'd understood the situation, I let him pass by and a little later I let the cruiser go past who'd also been helping. Then, when we got to the next lock (double width) we ended up sharing it with the narrowboat as the cruiser didn't want to share. We had a nice chat about it and became 'best of friends' for the rest of the times when we encountered each other over the next few days!

It was getting a bit late by the time we got to Swarkestone Lock, so we moored below it and set off for the long stroll to the pub, getting there by 9pm...just!

The Crewe & Harpur is a pub that I've reported on before (#204) as has Life After Football (here). Our first visit was back in 1986 when it was a proper village pub, but now it has expanded to become a Marston's Rotisserie pub and hotel. The food was good and the lager was cold, so progress hasn't spoiled the experience!

Day 8 - Saturday

Our lunchtime destination was the village of Willington which has been well covered by Life After Football and me in the past. There are three pubs within 100 yards of each other!
 

First up was The Dragon which has become more of a restaurant than a pub, but they managed to find a table for us despite it being fairly busy. The food and the beer were both very good, but we decided to take the long stroll to one of the other pubs...it would have been rude not to!

We couldn't quite tell whether the Green Man was open or not, so we went into the Rising Sun for the first time in very meny years.

We hadn't missed much! The bar looked to be the only room open. It is definitely a locals pub and somewhat of a stark contrast to The Dragon, but a village needs both types of pub to cater for the wide range of people you can get.

And then it was time to get back to the boat and head off for a Saturday night in Burton-upon-Trent. We had one goal in mind, but as it is a long walk from the canal we popped into the Oak & Ivy for a 'splash 'n' go' pitstop on our way to the Cooper's Tavern. 

I failed to get my fellow travellers to veer off into the Devonshire Arms for a quick pint (even though, last time, I'd struggled to get them out of there...before they'd experienced the Cooper's!). It was packed, but we managed to grab a table just as a group was leaving. Apparently, the Bass was very good as was my pint of Joules (one of their seasonal beers). This was also the first time we discovered that we could take our drinks to the Indian restaurant next door (Apne)...so we did.

After a lovely meal, we strolled back to the boat, but not before another pitstop at the Oak & Ivy to break up the walk!

More than halfway through the trip and we still have the delights of Atherstone and Coventry to relate!

(To be continued)

Boozin' and Cruisin' through the East Midlands (Part 3)

Day 5 - Wednesday 

We were now heading out of Leicester, down the River Soar towards Loughborough and, ultimately, Nottingham! We were heading for Life After Football country! 

First pitstop for lunch was the Hope & Anchor at Syston which is a truly canalside pub!

This pub has a greater significance, for me, than just by being a canalside boozer. As a child of about 10 years old (not sure when we went exactly) we had a family day out to visit the Hope & Anchor to see my Mum & Dad's friend Reg Snelling who was the landlord. Reg was a real character with the appearance and demeanour of Eric Morecambe and he allowed me to pour a pint (keg) and also to make my own shandy! (The pub was not open, so no laws were broken!) I also remember walking down to the bank of the canal, not realising that I'd be making several return journeys over the years.

Over the past 50 years it has lost almost all of it's character with the extensions and major alterations, but there's a little room behind where the bar is now that still has the low ceiling and, just for a moment, I could imagine that I was back in the old pub.

After a less than average lunch, we headed off for Loughborough as our night time stopover. This meant passing through Barrow-upon-Soar (which has some very good pubs) and Mountsorrel (below).

We managed to secure a mooring outside The Boat in Loughborough and we popped in for a pint!

We then set off for, what I hoped would be, pastures new. It turned out that we'd visited The Windmill on a previous occasion!

A bit of Bass 'porn' for those who like that sort of thing!

I don't remember exactly when we last visited there, but it is still a proper little boozer! So, after a lovely Italian meal at Caravelli (just across the road from the Windmill) we ended up in The Three Nuns for our final drinks of the evening.

Apparently the pub got it's name because of a spelling mistake/typo and they decided to keep it! It's another lovely little pub that had the best screens I've come across in any pub or elsewhere. They had been installed by the landlord and his son. The plastic was perfectly transparent, the wooden frames were painted to exactly match the bar and they were sized perfectly to allow for ease of access to your pint whilst also giving perfect sound for communication across the bar.
 

Day 6 - Thursday

 

We made an early getaway as it was a long way to the River Trent. We were still in Loughborough when we passed what had been (to me) one of the best pub experiences in the land. Sadly, a pub no more!

It was called The Albion and every time we visited it felt as cosy as if you were in someone's house, but it was decorated in a nautical/seaside style and I always felt as though I was by the coast in a 'smuggler's cove!
 

It was another pleasant sunny day as we travelled down the Soar Navigation towards Trent Lock where the River Soar meets the River Trent and the Erewash Canal. We mmored just on the Cranfleet Cut of the Trent and headed for the Trent Lock pub.

This is a pub that Life After Football (here) and I (#188) have both reported on in the past. As it was such a nice day, the pub garden was pretty full and there weren't enough bar staff to cope adequately. We sat inside and had a pleasant lunch and three pints...not being too affected by the shortages the pub was experiencing at the time. All too soon it was time to return to Peggy Ellen for the short afternoon trip into Nottingham.

 

Just after exiting Beeston Lock I kept a lookout for the Boat & Horses pub recommended by Life After Football. It was easy to see from the cut, but even if we'd wanted to stop (it was only 4:30pm) there were no available moorings. Less than 90 minutes later and we were moored at our regular mooring spot in Nottingham.

The first stop on our evening's entertainment was the VAT & Fiddle which is the taphouse for the Castle Rock brewery...and only a short walk from our mooring!

It was quite early in the evening and consequently it lacked clientele and atmosphere! There was a full range of Castle Rock ales available, all very good, but I feel that they could do a bit more to the pub to make it feel special...it is just a normal, unremarkable boozer at present. Then it was time to find somewhere to eat. 

 

In this day and age, Google Maps is your friend...except when left in the hands of a friend who isn't fazed by a 1 mile walk (mostly up hill!) to a Chinese restaurant which turned out to be very good (but I reckon there must have been just as good places closer by!)

 

Then it was the route march back (down hill now!) to Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem.

We could hear the final throes of a pop concert in the castle grounds as we approached the pub, but the pub itself was very quiet. For the first time ever, I think, we easily got seats in the first bar as you enter and we had an entertaining last couple of pints in the company of one of the pub's regulars!

Six days into our journey and it was time to commence the journey back to Napton and Wigrams Turn Marina.

(To be continued)

#204 Crewe & Harpur, Swarkestone, Derbyshire : 1986 to 2015

The stretch of the Trent & Mersey Canal that goes north from Fradley Junction to the River Trent is a part of the system that we don't often travel along.

Our first ever visit to the Crewe & Harpur Arms (as it was called then) was on the evening of Sunday 27th July 1986.

I remember little about the pub from that time apart from the fact that one of our crew was quite taken with one of the barmaids. Nothing came of it, but the name 'Rose of the Crewe & Harpur' has entered the folklore of our boating adventures!

We didn't return until the evening of Sunday 31st August 1997.

Although not particularly stand out, there had been many changes to the signage (and possibly ownership) in the intervening eleven years. The name remained the same, but the sign had changed completely, the Bass signs were gone, replaced by two larger information signs and two black squares had appeared. The bench seats remained, no parking signs appeared, the door had been painted, but the little lamps had gone. Inside, there was no Rose!

It wasn't too long before we returned, this time on the evening of Friday 28th August 2003.

Much the same externally, but with added plant life and a satellite dish! it was on this visit that we realised that it was now a Marston's pub.

Our most recent visit was on the evening of Saturday 4th April 2015.

In the intervening twelve years it was now just the Crewe & Harpur. Gone were the hanging baskets, bench seats and the satellite dish. The main sign had also been moved, yet the burglar alarm remains in the same place! You can also tell from the colour scheme, pastel drab as I would describe it, that it has become a more upmarket eating establishment.

More about the Crewe & Harpur can be found on their website.

#199 The Steamboat Inn, Trent Lock, Long Eaton, Notts : 1986 to 2015

On the occasions that we go to Nottingham on our boating trips we almost always stop at Trent Lock which means that we have two pubs to choose from - the Trent Lock (Formerly the Trent Navigation Inn) which I featured in July (#188) and The Steamboat Inn. (Well, I say 'choose', but we generally go into both!)

Our first visit to The Steamboat Inn was on the evening of Friday 25th July 1986 on our way to Nottingham.

It was a pleasant summer's evening and the pub was very busy. The only other thing I remember is that we won quite a few quid on the Quiz Machine (£10 Jackpot in those days!). The machine did its best to thwart us with the last two (supposedly random) questions being on railway steam engines. Fortunately, our crew member Matt was something of a railway buff and knew both answers!

We didn't return to Trent Lock until Saturday 30th August 1997 for a lunchtime stop.

As you'd expect, the outside had been redecorated in the intervening 11 years.

The next time we popped into The Steamboat Inn was at lunchtime on Thursday 3rd September 2009 on our way up the Erewash Canal for the first time.

Another complete external refurbishment, this time after a 12 year gap.

Our most recent visit was on Sunday 23rd August 2015 at lunchtime.

Just a repainting job on the outside over the previous six years looks to be the extent of the change, the lettering appears to be the same, albeit with a missing 'T'!

At first glance I'm surprised that two pubs, in what is an out-of-the-way place (by road), have survived through to the current day. But, on further reflection, both The Steamboat and the Trent Lock are very different in character - the Trent Lock always being like a proper 'country pub' with the Steamboat being a bit more 'brash' and having the feel of a seaside pub. When the sun is out, both do a roaring trade and I hope that they both make enough on the good days to survive through the bad ones.

One final observation: in the first picture there is a large tree behind the right hand chimney of the pub. Eleven years later it looks to still be there, but leafless, even thogh it is August. In 2009 the tree has gone. I'm assuming that these pictures have captured the death of an Elm tree caused by Dutch Elm Disease.

#198 Wolseley Arms, Wolseley Bridge, Staffordshire : 2002 to 2016

Wolseley Bridge is just outside Rugeley and sits alongside the River Trent on a stretch where the Trent & Mersey Canal runs side-by-side with it for several miles. Although we'd frequently used this stretch of canal over our many years of boating, we had never stopped here until lunchtime on Tuesday 17th September 2002!

The reason for this was a phenomenon that has become all too familiar over the past 10 - 15 years. Our initial plan had been to stop at Little Haywood for lunch as there were a couple of nice little pubs in the village. We moored up, walked into the village (5 - 10 mins) and both pubs were closed at lunchtime! This was the first time we'd really fallen foul of this emerging trend. So, we moved on and discovered the Wolseley Arms which, even then, was one of M&B's Vintage Inns. This actually worked well for us as it was after 3pm by the time we got there and they serve food all day!

The next time was  at lunchtime on Monday 22nd August 2005 as we headed north to, ultimately, Chester.

Essentially it was unchanged which is why I took this shot from the other angle.

Our next stop off there was at lunchtime (as always!) on Monday 30th August 2010 this time as we headed north to Manchester.

The décor both inside and out now reflected the updating that all Vintage Inns had undergone through that period.

It was another five years before we returned on the lunchtime of Wednesday 10th June 2015.

Another makeover had occurred, but not quite as drastic as the last one! As the new moorings (for the new boat) are now on the Trent & Mersey Canal the Wolseley Arms has become a more frequent stopping off place and we managed two visits in 2016.

The first on Friday 25th March 2016 (pictured above) and the second on Wednesday 8th June 2016. Little or no changes had occurred!

Having never seen it as a pub I tried to find some old pictures of when it was a 'proper' pub, but this is all I could find.

This is taken from the Wolseley Arms Facebook page, but I have no idea of the date. This is a similar view to my last shot; the road to the right leads over the River Trent and the canal; the road to the left takes you to Shugborough Hall.

Consulting my "Nicholson's Guide to the Waterways" (7th Edition; 1995) the Wolseley Arms is described thus, "Comfortable pub which has Bass real ales. Bar meals lunchtimes and evenings, vegetarians catered for, restaurant open Thu - Sun evenings and Sun lunchtime." Sounds like a typical (for then) posh country pub!

#188 Trent Lock Inn, Long Eaton, Derbyshire : 1986 to 2015

Trent Lock is where the River Trent meets the River Soar and the Erewash Canal and is where the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire meet with the Soar forming the border between Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, and the Trent that of Derbyshire.

From a boater's point of view it is quite a scary junction, especially when the local sailing club is out in force. Our first visit was on the lunchtime of Sunday 27th July 1986 on the return from Nottingham.

Back in those days it was called the Trent Navigation Inn. This photo is taken from the beer garden which leads down to the jetty on the River Trent where we were moored. An attractive location.

We didn't return until the lunchtime of Sunday 31st August 1997. Again, returning from Nottingham.

Quite an external transformation had taken place in the intervening 11 years...but I still cannot remember what it was like inside!

We stopped again, this time with no trip to Nottingham, at lunchtime on Friday 22nd August 2003.

Another external makeover, but it still retained the name from previous visits.

The next stop was, again, at lunchtime on Wednesday 2nd September 2009. It was an unscheduled visit as we had planned our first trip up the Erewash Canal, but were stymied by a lack of water. Instead, and after lunch, we went to Nottingham first. When we returned the next day, the canal was clear for navigation.

Another six years had passed by and another refurbishment had occurred. It had now become more of a pub/restaurant hybrid with a rustic style interior.

Our most recent visit was yet another lunchtime stop on Sunday 23rd August 2015.

Six more years had passed and now the pub was part of M&B's Vintage Inns brand and had been renamed The Trent Lock!

So, over a period of 29 years this pub/restaurant has had four complete makeovers together with a name change, but yet the TV aerial is still the same! I'd also hazard a guess that the roof has also been untouched over that period.