Boozin' & Cruisin' through the East Midlands (Part 1)

 It's been a while since my last post and a few weeks since we returned from our most recent canal trip, which compared to recent years, was relatively uneventful!

Day 1 - Saturday

We left Wigrams Turn Marina at Napton just before noon and arrived at our designated lunch stop, The Boathouse at Braunston in plenty of time.

It's a pub we've visited many times in the past and it is still a solid Marstons pub that majors on food. It delivered again!

The canal had been very busy on the trip to Braunston and we were unsure how long it would take us to negotiate the six locks that lead to the tunnel - especially as there is a hire base nearby!

We struck very lucky, two boats exited the bottom lock just as we were approaching and only one of the hire boats was ready to depart, so they shared the lock with us. There was little drama in ascending the lock flight and I even had time to take a photo of the Admiral Nelson which stands by the third lock up.

Sadly, there was no time for a pint, but in the past we've managed to squeeze in a swift half (or more) whilst queueing for this lock. So, it was onward and upwards through the rest of the locks and a busy Braunston Tunnel to our evening destination of the New Inn at Long Buckby.

It is a pub I've reported on before and, whilst it is a lovely pub it has been seriously let down by it's management in the past - #192 - again it didn't disappoint on that front. It was 6:45pm, the pub was virtually deserted and yet, they were fully booked for food! After a brief discussion, we called a cab and went into Daventry...for the first time in many years!

The taxi driver dropped us off in the town centre and we went into the first pub we found.

The Plume of Feathers was a lively proper town centre boozer that did have cask ale available. However, we were getting a bit peckish by now so strolled along the High Street until we found our saviour!

Where else is there to eat on a Saturday night in small town England apart from the local 'Spoons! The Saracen's Head was also quite busy and they were still operating table service for food.

After our sumptuous repast, we popped across the road to a pub that I did remember from a previous excursion to Daventry.

Last time we were here, the Dun Cow was a fairly standard boozer; a far cry from the modern day, upmarket gin palace that it has become! All too soon it was time to call the taxi firm again and return to the canal.

 

Day 2 - Sunday

 

Sundays are rapidly becoming the most difficult days on the canal for finding food and drink at civilised times!

 

Our first obstacle was Watford Locks which have restricted opening times and there was a queue. Fortunately, there was a full complement of volunteer lock keepers so the whole process flowed smoothly and efficiently. However, it still meant that we were quite late arriving at Crick, not getting to the pub until 1:45pm.

Fortunately, The Wheatsheaf was still serving food and a very pleasant Sunday roast it was too.

 

At this stage we knew that there would be no food available at our evening stop in North Kilworth so we acquired supplies from the village Co-op over the road from the pub.

 

It is quite a stroll to the pub in North Kilworth from the canal, but after our Chicken Carbonara we were ready for a few pints to wash away the taste it down and the pub website said that they were open until 11pm.

We arrived at the White Lion just after 8pm only to find that they were closing! They did serve us a pint each and after chatting to the bar staff we understood what had happened. Apparently, the gaffer had been making a really good go of it and the pub was doing very well. But the pandemic came along which knocked the stuffing out of him and he'd lost interest! (A not uncommon tale I suspect!) Hence the 'To Let' sign outside!

 After another pint and a vain attempt to get a taxi to anywhere nearby for less than £25, we bought some wine and beer to take out and shuffled back to the boat for a quiet night in!

 

After promising you that this trip was relatively uneventful, it was quite a 'difficult' first couple of evenings...it does get better!

 

(To Be Continued)

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"!)

#283 Boat Inn, Birdingbury Wharf, Warwickshire : 1998 to 2020

In these dark days of a winter lockdown it is hard to remain optimistic and upbeat about pubs in the knowledge/expectation that many will not survive into the post apocalyptic pandemic future.

However, I still have a few new pubs left to report on, so I'll start off the new year with the Boat Inn on the Grand Union Canal. It is a pub we'd passed on many occasions until lunchtime on Thursday 25th June 1998.

I have little recollection about the interior except that I vaguely remember it being quite cosy and having part of a narrowboat hull as the bar counter.

Our next stop was almost two years later on the evening of Sunday 28th May 2000.

Although it was only a couple of years, the Bass sign had disappeared, no doubt as part of the exterior redecoration.

Another nine years had gone by before I took this photo of the Boat Inn as we cruised by on the afternoon of Sunday 24th May 2009 on our way to Braunston for our evening stop.

This was post the 2007 Smoking Ban so there were many more tables outside. Also the pub name had reappeared on the signage.

Another couple of years drifted by and we passed the Boat Inn, again, on the afternoon of Sunday 29th May 2011, headed for Napton (having lunched at the Two Boats in Long Itchington!)

Fewer outdoor tables and the pub sign had changed to just The Boat in a style evocative of the Bass sign that was previously there.

Along this stretch of the Grand Union Canal, our preferred stop is at the Two Boats in Long Itchington, leaving both the Blue Lias and Boat Inn as under visited establishments.

Our next cruise by was on the morning of Wednesday 12th June 2019 being too early to stop for lunch having left Wigrams Turn Marina only 90 minutes earlier.

Yet again the main sign has changed, reverting back to the Boat Inn and there are now gazebos above the outdoor seating.

Our final vist was, in fact, an actual stop at the pub at lunchtime on Saturday 22nd August 2020. This time we'd been a little later leaving the marina!

The signage was unaltered and we had a pleasant lunch despite not having booked in advance, they managed to squeeze us in after other customers had finished.

 

As a pub with little natural footfall, it will be interesting to see whether it survives the pandemic.

Canal Pub Crawling - Part 3

We pick up our journey having spent an evening in Curdworth at The Beehive and White Horse, neither of which are canalside pubs.

DAY 5

BIRMINGHAM & FAZELEY CANAL - Curdworth to Fazeley Junction

COVENTRY CANAL - Fazeley Junction to Atherstone (above lock 6)

Again, we set out at about 09:30 with the aim of descending Curdworth Locks and having a lunchtime stop at Fazeley.

The first pub we passed was the Dog & Doublet, Bodymoor Heath B76 9JD at 11:30, but it was too early to think about stopping. We have visited there in the past and it is a great little pub.

Also, there were still a few more locks to be negotiated and we finally moored up at Fazeley Junction at 13:10. The pub we selected for our first pint wasn't, technically on our route (we were turning right at the junction and this pub is 100 yards to the left!) but we still went to the Three Tuns Inn, Fazeley B78 3QS.

This view from the A5 doesn't give the impression of a canalside boozer, but the garden at the back leads all the way down to the canal. It is under relatively new management and they don't do food anymore, but it is still a proper boozer. So, we had a pint and moved on to the Fazeley Victory (for Lunch) and the Three Horseshoes (still a great little pub).

So, it was back to the canal and onwards onto the Coventry Canal. It wasn't long before we were passing another watering hole.

The Gate Inn, Amington B77 3BY was the next canalside boozer we passed by at 16:25. Although the picture doesn't show it, the garden was very busy on a nice sunny Sunday afternoon. This is a pub we've stopped at previously, but not very often as it is only 90 minutes away from Fazeley, our preferred stopping place.

We continued our journey, passing another place we've never stopped at (16:55).

The Samuel Barlow, Alvecote B78 1AS is part of Alvecote Marina and is a relatively new addition to the canalside hostelries club having been built in 2003.

Again, it was way too early to stop as we pushed on to Atherstone. We passed through Polesworth which has several pubs, but none of them are overtly canalside. Having been caught in a late deluge, we moored up halfway up the Atherstone flight of locks just after 20:00. As we headed into town I took this picture of another pub we weren't going into today!

The King's Head, Atherstone CV9 2PA is another pub that we've occasionally visited, but when there are so many other pubs to choose from in the town, it tends to lose out! Today was no different and we walked into Atherstone for several pints and a curry.

DAY 6

COVENTRY CANAL - Atherstone (above Lock 6) to Hawkesbury Junction

OXFORD CANAL - Hawkesbury Junction to Newbold-on-Avon

We started off in drizzle and rain which didn't really abate much until our lunchtime stop, but we did pass another pub that we've visited in the past.

It was 11:05 and as tepmting a proposition as it was, it was still too early to stop at The Anchor Inn, Hartshill CV10 0RT. It looks as though it has been refurbished since our last visit, but being about 90 minutes 'sailing' time away from Atherstone it is generally a place we pass by.

After another couple of hours, passing through Nuneaton (no canalside boozers!) and close to Bedworth (and the now defunct Navigation which is a rather large private residence [that is up for sale]) we arrived at Hawkesbury Junction and a pub that it would be a crime to pass by.

The Greyhound Inn, Longford CV6 6DF is a proper 'old school' canalside pub that also does great food. There have been times when it has been so full that we've caught a taxi into Coventry! Being a cool, grey Monday, I was half expecting it to be closed, but it wasn't and we had our obligatory three lunchtime pints and some lovely food.

Now we were on the homeward stretch of the journey as we joined the Oxford Canal by passing through Sutton Stop Lock. The rest of the afternoon was grey and drizzly and we passed no canalside pubs before our evening stop. The Elephant & Castle closed many years ago (and we'd never visited it as it was only 20 minutes away from The Greyhound!) and I'm not counting the Rose & Castle in Ansty. Althoiugh the garden runs down to the canal, there's nowhere to moor and access is always via the road!

So, the next pub we came to was the Barley Mow, Newbold-on-Avon CV21 1HW, by which time it was 19:50.

Back in the day, this used to be two pubs actually next-door to each other! Now they've been combined to provide a pub and hotel. There were plenty of locals in the bar and there is a restaurant section, but we preferred to eat in the bar where there was some atmosphere...it was a fairly quiet Monday night!.

DAY 7
OXFORD CANAL - Newbold-on-Avon to Braunston Turn
GRAND UNION/OXFORD CANAL - Braunston Turn to Wigram's Turn Marina

This was the final leg of our journey and, as we both had to dash off to prior engagements as soon as we got back to base...we didn't stop for lunch!

After Newbold you get to Rugby quite quickly and we passed by a pub that we used a few times when it was first built, but it is now a Harvester which seems to have turned its back on the canal.

It was only 09:45 when we passed the Bell & Barge, Rugby CV21 1RG, so we wouldn't have stopped anyway, but you can see how the mooring has become so overgrown.

The next, and final pub we passed was something of a surprise.

It was 11:45 when we passed The Waterside, Hillmorton CV21 4PW and, on another day, we may well have stopped for an early lunch...but not today! However, that wasn't the surprise. The penultimate time we'd passed this way, we did stop at the Old Royal Oak which had been the name of this pub since my first visit on my first canal trip in 1980. Indeed, it was still the Old Royal Oak in September 2018 when we last passed this way, but (from what I can glean from TripAdvisor) it changed from a Hungry Horse into a Pub & Carvery in October/November 2018.

We pushed on, past Braunston (not passing any more canalside pubs) and on to Wigram's Turn.

So, on this leg of the trip we passed 10 canalside pubs and went into just three, which is the best percentage of the whole trip.

In conclusion, in seven days we passed 34 canalside pubs and actually went into just 8 of them. Of those 34 pubs, we have never been in 5 of them! (The trip was 104 miles, passing through 120 locks and took 50 hours 5 minutes)

Had we stopped at every pub, we would never have completed the journey in 7 days, but if time was not part of the equation, you could probably do it in about a fortnight without any stress.

What has really surprised me is that, before we did this, I'd have estimated that we stop at about 50% of the canalside pubs, whereas the reality is 23.5%. (Although, over the years, we have been in 85% of them).

#253 Royal Oak, Polesworth, Warwickshire : 1998 to 2018

Our first ever canal visit to Polesworth was back in 1982, but I wasn't taking pictures of every pub back then, so you have to wait until the evening of Monday 22nd June 1998 for the first picture of the Royal Oak.

It is a small, proper boozer, close to one of the canal bridges in the village, so ideal for a quick pint as I don't think we've ever eaten in there (not sure if they've ever done food!)

We returned a couple of years later on the evening of Wednesday 31st May 2000.

In the space of those two years it had gone from being a Bass pub to a Banks's 'Free House'. It had been redecorated and re-signed on the outside, but I've no recollection of the inside.

It was a little longer between visits, but the next time we popped into the Royal Oak was on the evening of Monday 30th August 2004.

Again, the signage had been changed and any mention of Banks's removed.

Another five years passed by and, when we returned at lunchtime on Wednesday 27th May 2009, the exterior was remarkably unchanged.

There was a board advertising some food, but I have a feeling that there wasn't any!

We did visit Polesworth at lunchtime on Wednesday 1st June 2011 and, although we didn't go into the Royal Oak, I still managed to get a picture as we passed by.

Apart from the addition of an England flag (possibly left over from the 2010 World Cup?) nothing had changed.

Our next visit was four years later on the evening of Sunday 24th May 2015.

This time the signage had changed with what appears to be the return of the original hanging sign, although in a slightly different position to accommodate the new sign on the front of the pub.

Our most recent visit to the Royal Oak was at lunchtime on Saturday 29th September 2018 as we moved Peggy Ellen to her new mooring at Wigram's Turn Marina, Napton.

No changes to the outside and, inside, it s still the same, small proper pub...but no food. So after a pint we moved on to Foster's Yard for our lunch.