Kennet & Avon Canal - Part I (Bradford-on-Avon to Bath)

Most of the pubs featured in this blog are ones that I've visited on our canal holidays over the years. Since we sold our boat Emma Jane last year we've been able to visit 'new' canals that I've never been on before. From a holiday point of view this has been great, but it means that, for this blog, the supply of pubs has diminished somewhat. I've still got quite a few to get through, but as it is still fresh in the mind I'm going to detail the pubs we visited on our most recent trip along the Kennet & Avon Canal. Who knows, in a few years if we revisit the canal again I can add them to the collection.

Our trip started from Bradford-on-Avon with lunch in one of the nearest pubs to the Black Prince hire base.

Canal Tavern, Bradford-on-Avon

Like all of the buildings in Bradford it is built from local stone. Inside it was quite 'pubby' and pleasant for a lunchtime break before our boat was ready.

So, after a good lunch we took charge of the narrowboat Anitra and, after the obligatory boat familiarisation and safety talk we were off towards Bath. We consulted our Nicholson's Guide and expected to be in Bath by the evening. What we hadn't bargained for was the sheer number of moored boats along the way. You have to go very slowly past moored boats and there were few opportunities to get up any speed so we only made it as far as Bathampton.

The George, Bathampton

This was the perfect mooring site as that's our boat you can see right outside the pub! The George, sadly, is a Chef & Brewer pub and it was Saturday night. All of the tables were occupied or reserved and it was fully booked. Not for the last time on this holiday we consulted our smartphones to see what else was available nearby. The bar staff were no help, but technology pointed us towards Bathampton Mill and a quick phone call reserved us a table.

Bathampton Mill

This is an upmarket restaurant in what used to be a large pub by the river...although the riverside setting was rather lost as it was very dark (hence the not so great picture!). I'm not sure I should classify this as a pub, but as it used to be I'll include it even though it is an expensive eatery with a bar area.

Next day we tackled the short journey into Bath, via the six locks and moored up on the River Avon. Time for lunch so we headed into Bath to discover the delights of the city. Fortunately there are lots of street maps because to the unwary tourist Bath can become quite bewildering.

The West Gate, Bath

This was our first port of call - The West Gate is larger than expected and was fairly unatmospheric at that time on a Sunday lunchtime.

Back in May I reported on Britain's Best Real Heritage Pubs and the pubs that I'd visited in there. I'd taken it on holiday expecting to find a few new pubs to explore. There are two in Bath and we discovered one nearby.

The Old Green Tree, Bath

This is a proper old school pub - as you walk in the bar is in front of you, to the left is the front room and another room at the back, which is where we sat.

Allied to very friendly bar staff you get a perfect pub!

Cornish Pasty for lunch, a tour of the sights of Bath and back to the boat for a breather before a second foray into the city for the evening session. After a bit more sightseeing, this was our first pub.

The Huntsman, Bath

The Huntsman is a large fairly characterless pub, but it served its purpose! One pint and it was onwards.

Saracen's Head Tavern, Bath

This is a fairly bog-standard boozer...which is what I like! As we were getting a bit peckish we moved on again, to eat. Then it was back to the pubs and we found this little gem.

Coeur de Lion, Bath

Apparently this is the smallest pub in Bath and I'm not surprised. The upstairs bit was closed (well it was late on a Sunday night), but the downstairs bar is tiny but full of interest. Still time for one more, hopefully!

The Canary Gin & Wine Bar, Bath

My memory is fading (nothing to do with the drink, officer!) as this was our last stop of the evening, but it was a pleasant place. Not quite a pub, but perfectly acceptable for a last drink of the evening.

That seems to be a reasonable point to end this first instalment of our Kennet & Avon adventure. 

#130 Crown Inn, Alvechurch, Worcestershire : 1987 to 2013

The Crown Inn at Alvechurch is just a few miles away from me, but the only times I've drunk there has been on our canal trips as it sits (almost canal side) on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.

My first visit was on the evening of Saturday 4th July 1987, at the start of a trip that would take us as far south as Worcester and as far north as Middlewich!

As I recall, we spent the whole evening there in a proper, cosy village pub.

A combination of circumstances meant that our next visit to the Crown Inn was on the evening of Monday 12th August 2002.

This shows how close to the canal it is without actually being canalside. The exterior had been extensively refurbished, but inside it was largely unchanged. This visit was part of a short local trip that we'd undertaken with the idea of doing some boat painting along the way.

We were back again in less than a year.

This was on the evening of Thursday 29th May 2003 near the end of our Stourport Ring journey. This view is from the canal bridge and shows that it hadn't changed externally.

Another five years passed before we did the Stourport Ring again and this time it was a lunchtime stop at the Crown on Thursday 29th May 2008.

Finally I took a picture from the front again so that the changes from 1987 are more apparent.

Another five years passed and we attempted the Stourport Ring one more time. This time we started from Worcester, so we popped in to the Crown Inn at lunchtime on Monday 13th May 2013.

It is quite remarkable that the outside has hardly changed in the past 11 years and is still advertised as an M&B pub. Inside it still has the same layout and is still the same cosy village pub that it was in 1987. If you're in the area, it is worth a visit and here is their website.

#129 Parr Arms, Grappenhall, Cheshire : 1991 to 2013

This will be a short entry as I've only ever drunk in the pub once! Our first visit was at lunchtime on Tuesday 22nd July 1991 as part of a trip from Wigan to Lapworth.

As I recall it was a pleasant village pub, but over 20 years later the memory hasn't dragged out anything significant.

After we'd finished our journey in 1991, our boat Emma Jane went further south and for a few years was based on the lower reaches of the Grand Union Canal.

In the intervening years we've passed through Grappenhall a couple of times, but not stopped there.

This year, in a break from tradition, our Easter trip took us into Manchester, starting from the Claymoore Narrowboats hire base at Preston Brook. On our way back we took the opportunity to revisit the lovely village of Grappenhall.

This photo was taken on Sunday 31st March 2013. There are two pubs in the village, almost next door to each other, and we went in the Ram's Head first where we had a few pints and our evening meal. It was getting a bit late and I was keen to have a last pint in the Parr Arms...but it was closed having finished serving at 10:30 pm!

On my (very) brief visit inside it appeared to be a proper 'old school' village pub, but sadly with 'old school' opening hours! So we had another one in the Ram's Head!

As you would expect in 22 years the exterior had been extensively changed, but it is now a Robinson's pub and back in 1991 it was Greenhall Whitley. One trivial point to finish - it is unusual to get an orange car in one picture...but in two, 20+ years apart, that's just 'spooky'!

#128 Black Star, Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire : 1999 to 2013

The Black Star is a canalside pub in Stourport that should be thriving. Our first visit was on the evening of Tuesday 1st June 1999, which still surprises me as we'd been to Stourport previously at least on two occasions.

From what I remember it was a cosy little canalside pub that did good food.

Our next visit was a lunchtime stop on Tuesday 27th May 2008.

It had been extensively redecorated on the outside, but inside was largely unchanged.

Our most recent trip to Stourport was on the evening of Thursday 16th May 2013. Although this was a scheduled stop on our trip it also proved to be the end of our journey as the River Severn was running several feet above its normal level and was closed. The incessant rain from Sunday had worked its way down from Wales and we were unable to get our boat back to the hire base on the river near Worcester.

So, it was time for a pub crawl!

Again the Black Star had been externally redecorated, but the internal layout was still pretty much the same - a smallish, quite cosy, front bar/lounge and a larger room at the back set out for dining. The only problem was that it was almost deserted! From what I can glean from t'internet the lease is currently available and it sounds like an attractive proposition...but only if someone can make it work. It should be thriving, but when we were there the canal was full of boats that couldn't go further and yet there was no-one in the restaurant part of the pub!

Hopefully someone can turn it around and here is their website.

#127 The Red Man, Kidderminster, Worcestershire : 2008 to 2013

Despite the fact that we've done the Stourport Ring on several occasions, we've only ever stopped in Kidderminster twice! 

Before I get on with it, I'm not sure if there are any other pubs with this name - I've come across many a Green Man, but this is the only Red Man I know of - do you know any better? 

The first time, and indeed only time I've been inside The Red Man was on the evening of Monday 26th May 2008. We were having a bit of a pub crawl around Kidderminster whilst trying to find a suitable place to eat when we came upon The Red Man. Inside it was like many small town pubs; functional but lacking in any real character...and, as it was a Monday evening, fairly quiet. One rather different aspect was that it didn't just allow people to eat their takeaways in the pub, it was positively encouraged with various menus scattered about. At the time I thought it was a great idea for a pub that doesn't do food!

The next time we stopped in Kidderminster was on a lunchtime and we didn't go in The Red Man, but I took this photo as we strolled by.

This was taken on Thursday 16th May 2013. This is one of the most complete external makeovers I've documented in the time I've been doing this blog. Seemingly their innovative experiment with the food has gone by the board as it would appear that they now do their own. Here is their website.

#126 The Wheatsheaf, Crick, Northants : 1986 to 2013

Crick is a village in the Northamptonshire countryside and sits on the Grand Union Canal Leicester Section. It is home to the annual Crick Boat Show. There are three pubs in the village which we've visited on numerous occasions.

The first time I went to Crick was on the evening of Monday 21st July 1986 on a canal trip that would take us to Leicester and Nottingham.

I don't recall too much about it, but I think that The Wheatsheaf was a fairly standard village local with a Bar and Lounge. I do seem to remember that many of the pubs in that region seemed to be Mann's pubs.

It was quite a few years before we returned to Crick and this is how The Wheatsheaf looked.

This was a repeat of the previous journey and the photo was taken at lunchtime on Tuesday 26th August 1997. Quite a change in the intervening 11 years, although the hanging sign appears to be the same. Also, the light fittings are in the same place, but different in design.

We were back again a few years later on a similar itinerary (except that we didn't go to Nottingham this time) and we spent the evening in Crick.

This was on Monday 18th August 2003 and the six year gap had resulted in some more changes. New signage, new windows (I think!) and a replacement satellite dish. Also, no more car parking at the front.

Our next visit was another six years later, again on a similar journey, except this time the route had been reversed. We'd already been to Nottingham and Leicester and were on our way back to our moorings at Lapworth.

This was on the evening of Wednesday 9th September 2009 and again there were noticeable changes to the exterior of The Wheatsheaf. A new sign and yet another satellite dish!

Earlier this year I visited the Crick Boat Show for the first time and took the opportunity to pop into the village to get some updated photos of the pubs.

This was on Monday 27th May 2013. I think that the narrowboat mock-up is only there during the boat show. Other than that, there were some minor external changes...and the satellite dish has gone!

I haven't commented on the interior because, quite frankly, I don't recall what it was like. However, judging by the website, it looks as though The Wheatsheaf has gone a bit more upmarket.

#125 The Dry Dock Inn, Windmill End, West Midlands : 1996 to 2013 (RIP)

The first time I ever visited The Dry Dock Inn was some time in the 1980's. I remember it very well as I'd been given the use of a company car (for a business trip the next day) and so took friends out for a trip to a pub we'd not been to before.

My first visit as part of a canal trip was in 1996.

This was on the evening of Sunday 26th May 1996 and we spent the whole evening there. It had an unusual bar (more below) and did great, simple pub food.

We visited again three years later.

This was the view from our mooring at Windmill End Junction on the evening of Thursday 3rd June 1999. Again we spent the whole evening in the pub. The interior of the pub was dominated by the bar which was made from the bow of a narrowboat.

This was also the evening that I attempted a 'Desperate Dan Cow Pie' - I failed! When it arrived it didn't look to be too much of a challenge, but once I'd broken into the pie case and finished the layer of potatoes, the layer of carrots and the layer of meat I discovered that I was only half way and there were just as many more potatoes, carrots and meat! I still gave it a good shot, but I know when I'm beaten!

We were back at The Dry Dock in a couple of years, this time for a lunchtime stop.

This was on Sunday 27th May 2001 and, apart from the complete redecoration on the outside, inside it was largely unchanged.

Our next visit was five years later.

This was at lunchtime on Sunday 4th June 2006 and, although it looked to be mostly unchanged, they weren't serving food at lunchtime! So we had a pint and moved on finding a little local called the Red Lion where we managed to get a sandwich (which was all we really needed/wanted). The nearest pub is just over the road and is a typical Banks's estate pub that doesn't do food.

We made our final visit on Tuesday 14th May 2013.

Another lunchtime stop (it is just under 3 hours by canal from Birmingham via Netherton Tunnel) and it has certainly changed - it is now five flats! Disaster! Well not really as the Red Lion is nearby. (The Wheatsheaf across the road is still open, but still not doing food.) More disaster! The Red Lion wasn't open either - not fully closed down, just doesn't open on weekday lunchtimes.

The silver lining to our cloud was that we ended up in Ma Pardoe's (The Old Swan) just up the road in Netherton. Plain, simple sandwiches and three pints of Old Swan Ale (not bad as I don't drink at lunchtimes and I'm a lager drinker!!)