Good News & Bad News from Stoke-on-Trent

I know! You get no pubs from me for a couple of weeks, then two come along at once!!

#208 The Bird in Hand, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent : 1999 to 2016 (RIP)

First, the bad news. This is a pub that I don't think I ever went in, but it is one we've failed to find on several visits!

This picture was taken on the way back to our boat after a bit of a pub crawl around Hanley on Friday 3rd September 1999. It was closed by then...and we probably couldn't have drunk any more. But, we'd be able to visit it next time we were in the area!

Sadly our optimism was unfounded (and our sense of direction let us down, again) so that we didn't pass by until the evening of Saturday 26th March 2016.

The Bird in Hand is no more, now it is an Islamic community centre - a fate suffered by many pubs in inner city areas.

#209 Shoulder of Mutton Inn, Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent : 2011 to 2016

This is the good news story. On the evening of Friday 2nd September 2011 we stumbled across this magnificent looking back street pub.

At the time it looked as though the Shoulder of Mutton was gone forever, but no, this is what we found on Saturday 26th March 2016.

It was alive and well and open for business; so we had a quick pint. Inside it is all that you'd expect of an 'old school' back street boozer. The Carling was nice and cold, but there was no real ale (although there was a hand pump!). More information can be found here.  

#119 The Black Horse, Foxton, Leicestershire : 1997 to 2012

Although we'd stopped at Foxton before, our first visit to The Black Horse was a lunchtime visit on Wednesday 27th August 1997.

This was on a trip that took us through Leicester and on to Nottingham. In the morning we'd come down the famous Foxton Staircase and were in need of liquid sustenance...and a bit of lunch as well!

Next time we were in Foxton was on the evening of Tuesday 19th August 2003 on a repeat of our 1997 trip to Nottingham.

This time, we popped into the Shoulder of Mutton (#113) and then strolled up the hill to The Black Horse for our evening meal. The food was good and inside the pub was typical of many comfortable country pubs of that era that do food.

Another six years later and we were back. This time we were doing the same trip as previous years, but in reverse.

This was on the evening of Tuesday 8th September 2009 and I particularly remember the excellent customer service and very good food, in distinct contrast to the abysmal service received at the Red Lion in Crick the next evening! As I recall the inside was little changed from previous visits.

The final photo was taken on Sunday 16th December 2012.

I didn't go inside, but from their website it would appear that the interior has been 'modernised' and is now more in the 'farm house/rustic' style that many country pubs have adopted over recent years. 

#113 Shoulder of Mutton, Foxton, Leicestershire : 1986 to 2012

My first visit to the Shoulder of Mutton at Foxton was a lunchtime stop on Wednesday 23rd July 1986.

We'd travelled from our overnight stop at Husbands Bosworth and negotiated our descent of the magnificent Foxton Staircase Locks, so we were due a cooling pint of lager. The Shoulder of Mutton was a perfect choice, even though it was a Mann's pub (as were most pubs in that area at that time!). As I recall it was a proper English country pub with a large garden at the front.

Our next visit was on the evening of Tuesday 19th August 2003, again after a trip down the Foxton Staircase.

In the intervening years the pub had been extended forwards at the front and it was no longer a Mann's pub. I don't really remember what it was like inside, but I suspect it had become a bit more food oriented.

Our next and most recent canal visit was on the evening of Tuesday 8th September 2009 following a rapid 35 minute transit up the ten locks of the Foxton Staircase. We were the last boat up for the evening. I was steering and with the assistance of the lockkeeper, Will and Andrew were like a well oiled machine as we moved through the flight with barely an error in the operation of the lock gear and gates. I don't know if anyone has done it faster, but I reckon that 35 minutes from closing the bottom gate to closing the top would be hard to beat.

By this time, the Shoulder of Mutton had become a Chinese restaurant with a bar. So we had just the one pint and moved on to the Black Horse just up the road.

My final picture was taken on Sunday 16th December 2012 on a visit to see the repairs being made to the Foxton Staircase.

As far as I can ascertain the Shoulder of Mutton is still a Chinese restaurant with a bar, but it gets good reviews.