#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. 

#118 The Junction, Moseley, Birmingham : 1998 to 2012

This is a strange one! Back in the late 70's when I was a student in Birmingham, The Junction in Moseley didn't exist! I'm not sure exactly when it became a pub, but back in 1998 it was called The Hogshead.

This was taken some time over the Easter Weekend of 1998 and, as I recall, we only had one pint and left quickly. It was typical of the Hogshead chain; busy, noisy and unattractively designed.

I've never been back, but now it has been reborn as The Junction.

This photo was taken on Sunday 11th November 2012 and it seems that The Junction is thriving.

#117 The Oddfellows, Nantwich, Cheshire : 1996 to 2012

When I came to review the logs of our canal trips through the years, I was very surprised to find that the first time we ever stopped at Nantwich was in 1996, sixteen years since my first canal trip! Our usual itinerary was to stop at Audlem on the way up on the Shropshire Union Canal followed by a visit to Ye Olde Barbridge Inn (or reverse on the way down). Nantwich is between these two.

My first visit was on Saturday 24th August 1996 when we picked up Emma Jane there from Andrew who'd had a two week trip from Lapworth.

As it was a lunchtime, we retired to the nearest pub, the Oddfellows Arms (as it was named then), for a few pints before we set off for our first journey to Llangollen.

We didn't return to Nantwich again until Sunday 28th August 2005 on our way back from a trip to Chester.

This was an evening stop and it allowed us to explore Nantwich further after our first port of call, The Oddfellows. From the outside, the pub was very different, but inside it was still the same welcoming, proper pub that it was before.

We were back again the next year on a trip that should have taken us to Manchester. We never made it that far as we'd fallen half a day behind schedule within the first two days! Still, this tardiness on our part meant that we could visit the Anderton Boat Lift and take the trip down to the River Weaver.

This was on the evening of Wednesday 30th August 2006 and again we took the opportunity to sample the delights of Nantwich. For those of us who like pubs, Nantwich provides a fine selection, many of which we've now sampled! The Oddfellows was largely unchanged.

We were back in Nantwich again in 2007 (twice), but didn't pay a visit to The Oddfellows on either visit!

Our most recent visit was on Thursday 12th April 2012 on our first trip on a hire boat.

At first glance, the pub is almost unchanged, but the small Burtonwood sign has gone, the windows have been replaced and a new sign has appeared on the right hand end wall. Inside was largely the same as before...small, cosy and welcoming.

It is now a Marston's pub and despite the subtle name change, most websites still refer to it as the Oddfellows Arms!

#116 Knightley Arms, Yelvertoft, Northants

The Knightley Arms is a pub we've only visited once, for a lunchtime stop, on Tuesday 22nd July 1986.

This was an unscheduled stop and it looks like we got there before the pub was open. We'd been cruising along the Leicester Section of the Grand Union Canal after having spent the previous evening in Crick. However, our propeller had become 'weeded up' and needed clearing. Unfortunately, the access to Emma Jane's weed hatch wasn't easy and we needed to let the exhaust pipe cool down before it was possible to de-weed. (Any excuse for a drinks stop, I hear you say!!)

I don't really remember too much about the pub, but it did have a skittles table and during our game, one of our party managed to nearly break the ankle of a local with a misdirected skittles cheese! We've not been back since that incident, but the main reason is that Yelvertoft falls between the 'natural' stops along this stretch of canal.

I was in the area recently and took the opportunity to revisit Yelvertoft to see whether the pub had survived.

The Knightley Arms was alive and well on Sunday 16th December 2012, but I didn't venture inside. Considering it had been 26 years, the changes were minimal compared to what might have happened. New signs and new windows, but the external layout looks to be pretty much the same as before. Note: the George & Dragon is still above the hanging sign!

#115 The Wonder, Tividale, West Midlands : 2005 to 2012

When we first discovered Tividale in 2005 I really had no idea where we were in relation to the rest of the West Midlands and it was somewhat of an adventure trying to find pubs and ones that did food at lunchtime.

On our first stop on Thursday 1st September 2005, we came to a T-Junction and turned left. This took us to The Wonder.

A simple two-room Banks's boozer which a few years ago were very common in the Black Country, but are now becoming quite rare. A perfectly adequate pub, but with no food available we moved on to The Plough (#104) and then the Albion Inn (#093), neither of which did food. It was only after being directed up the road to a Toby Inn that I realised just where we were!

I subsequently became much more familiar with Tividale, but that's another story unrelated to pubs and canal trips!

I was back in the area and took this picture as I was passing.

This was on Tuesday 4th December 2012 and I'm pleased to report that it was still thriving. The signage has changed a bit, the windows have been replaced, Sky Sports is available and the most significant change (from my perspective) is that food is available from 12 - 8 pm! Here is the website.

#114 Ring O' Bells, Christleton, Cheshire : 2005 to 2012

The first time we visited Christleton on the outskirts of Chester we never got beyond the Old Trooper (#090) which is right by the canal. Next time we stopped there was a lunchtime and we decided to investigate the village further. Christleton is a very pretty village and we were pleasantly surprised to find the Ring O'Bells.

This was on Saturday 27th August 2005 and, as I recall, we had a very pleasant lunchtime stop there. In those days it was a fairly upmarket pub that did good food.

We weren't back in the locale for quite a few years and what a transformation!

This was again a lunchtime stop on Wednesday 11th April 2012. Although the picture is from the other side it is very obvious that the Ring O' Bells has been extensively redeveloped. It is now more of a restaurant than a pub, but the food was good and it was reasonably busy for a Wednesday lunchtime.

On the website, this is how they describe it - "In a nutshell Ring O’ Bells is a welcoming Cheshire pub combining high class food with the finest wines and beers". But, to my mind, if you can reserve a table it is no longer a pub!

#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.