Bartons Arms 27th June,Walsall 28th June.

Printable View

13-06-2011, 16:23
Bucking Fastard

Bartons Arms 27th June,Walsall 28th June.

Thuck Phat and I will be navigating the Birmingham Canal Navigation later this month ,and will moor in Aston for an evening pilgrimage to The Bartons Arms on Monday 27th,the historic interior and Oakham ales are just too tempting.Does anyone know if there is a curry house nearby ?

The next day we are going up the Perry Bar Locks and are aiming for Walsall for the evening of the 28th.It seems that The Black Country Arms is a must visit but are there any other pubs in walking distance of the Town Wharf that shouldn't be missed ?Again is there a reasonable curry option in downtown Walsall ?

It would be great to meet up with any local pubgalore scribes at either or both venues.Granted that Monday and Tuesday nights are not the most popular nights for a beer,but we could do with guidance on which MILD:notworthy: to try.
21-07-2011, 20:15
Crossste

Bit late on this one. Where are you and TP cruising about this year or are you sticking to the BCN. We are just about to set off on this years 6 week waterways pub crawl from Barbridge > Montgomery > Shroppie > Staffs & Worcs to Stourport back up to Grt Heywood > T&M > Macc > Peak Forest > HNC > Calder & Hebble to leave the boat at Sowerby Bridge for the winter while i book into the Priory.
22-07-2011, 10:22
Bucking Fastard

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crossste

Bit late on this one. Where are you and TP cruising about this year or are you sticking to the BCN. We are just about to set off on this years 6 week waterways pub crawl from Barbridge > Montgomery > Shroppie > Staffs & Worcs to Stourport back up to Grt Heywood > T&M > Macc > Peak Forest > HNC > Calder & Hebble to leave the boat at Sowerby Bridge for the winter while i book into the Priory.

Hi,Crossste
TP and myself did potter around parts of the BCN and ended up at Cambrian Wharf ,Birmingham where we met up with two other regular crew for a "lads boating week" kindly sanctioned by respective wives.We also met up with Andy Ven for a few beers before setting off.We went down the Dudley no1 Canal and Stourbridge Canal to the S&W to Stourport then down the Severn to Worcester,Tewkesbury,and Gloucester before retracing our steps to navigate the newly restored Droitwich Canal,then tackling the Tardebigge flight and ending up back in Brum.I have just finished off the reviews for the pubs visited.
The engine tappets are being adjusted and the bottom blacked at Alvechurch right now.There has been a persistent slow oil leak for a few months ,so my next plan is to head to Calcutt Boats via Lapworth and Warwick as they specialise in BMC engines and they will lift it out of the boat to hopefully rectify the problem.I have become a continuous cruiser,so after Calcutt the world is my oyster,but I expect to hang around in the south Midland for a while,possibly going up to Coventry and a quiet trip on the Ashby Canal.I need to touch up the paint work aswell,so it is unlikely I will be rushing about nor crossing your path this year:(.I may well look for a BW winter mooring in the London area from November,so a slow drift down the Grand Union in September and October looks a good plan with diversions down to Northampton,Aylesbury and Slough on the way.

Your six week tour sound fantastic,one week with the lads almost did for me,you must have a very strong constitution;)
I expect you have got a target list of pubs to visit ,but if you have the time and inclination to walk(or bus) into Stafford from Radford Bank on the northern S&W ,I was very impressed with The Sun.I haven't been down the Shroppie for a few years but I know that Soup Dragon has recently visited a lot of the canalside pubs and his reviews are very reliable if you are in planning mode.

Your journey up the T&M,Macc,Peak Forest,HNC and Calder and Hebble is the reverse journey that I made last year in July and August and is terrific fun .Stone is one of my favourite canal towns and two outstanding pubs,The Swan Inn and The Royal Exchange,and I think you know all about The Blue Bell at Kidsgrove.Navigating through Standedge Tunnel is an experience and the payoff for all that hard work with the locks is Huddersfield which must be one of the best towns for boozing in the country.Good luck with your trip and I look forward to the reviews ,assuming you can remember where you have been after 6 weeks drinking:D

Although it is a bit early to be planning for 2012,ideally I would like to head north again and tick off The Yorkshire Derwent and Pocklington Canal in May before heading to Leeds and navigating the full lenght of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in a week with the usual suspects.I think the drinking will be good on that canal:nishelypished:.Not sure I have got the guts:sick:(or reliable enough engine ) to then go across The Mersey ,up The Manchester Ship Canal to Ellesmere Port but a return to the midlands via Chester and The Shroppie is likely.So there might be a chance to catch up with you and your crew on that route next year.

Enjoy your voyage.:drinkup::drinkup::drinkup::drinkup::drinku p::drinkup:
25-07-2011, 15:55
Crossste

Hi BF. Shame our paths won't cross this year, but if you do the L&L next year there is a chance. Agree with you on the 2 pubs in Stone and thanks for the heads up on Stafford. Just sat at Ellesmere on the Llangollen as i type this. So far the beer choice on this holiday has been a bit disappointing and i am not holding out any great hope for tonight but its not going to stop me trying. I,m jealous on the CCing, that is our aim in a 3-4 years. Good luck with the boat.
27-07-2011, 09:51
aleandhearty

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bucking Fastard

Although it is a bit early to be planning for 2012,ideally I would like to head north again...before heading to Leeds and navigating the full lenght of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal....

It was a great shame to miss you last time you came north and I kicked myself when I saw reviews for places like The Bingley Arms, Horbury and The Shoulder of Mutton, Castleford, both just a few miles from where I live. Would be great to meet up in, or around, Leeds and I would happily play tour guide, if required.
28-07-2011, 09:27
Bucking Fastard

Quote:

Originally Posted by aleandhearty

It was a great shame to miss you last time you came north and I kicked myself when I saw reviews for places like The Bingley Arms, Horbury and The Shoulder of Mutton, Castleford, both just a few miles from where I live. Would be great to meet up in, or around, Leeds and I would happily play tour guide, if required.

It would be good to meet up a&h ,and l noticed that there were safe moorings on the lock cut at Wakefield where I could leave the boat for a while ,so would appreciate a guide around town there as well.Leeds does look excellent on the drinking front:drinkup:,and our weekly tour will kick off from there on a Friday night given the very good train connections from the south east.It would be good to have you along ,especially as the crew are horrified to see me struggling with a pubsgalore map,trying desperately to locate a pub in a city none of us have ever been to before . We even managed to get lost in Ripon:muppet:,trying to meet up with oldboots .
28-07-2011, 19:52
aleandhearty

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bucking Fastard

It would be good to meet up a&h ,and l noticed that there were safe moorings on the lock cut at Wakefield where I could leave the boat for a while ,so would appreciate a guide around town there as well.Leeds does look excellent on the drinking front:drinkup:

Great! Sounds like we have a cunning plan. Not particularly au fait with the boating world, but I've got a rough idea where you will be moored. If it's where I'm thinking of, it's handy for the city centre. Something to look forward to.