Canal Pubs & Canalside Inns

Canal Pubs, or Public Houses to give them their full name, are an essential part of the canal experience. Some canals and river navigations seem to have a pub every few miles, often in locations where there can have been little local trade.

The pubs were, in fact, there specially to cater for the canal trade, shown by the number called the Navigation or the Boat. Boatmen must have been thirsty people, although working a boat, as well as being tiring, must have been quite a lonely job and the company of drinking companions was probably important. Many pubs, such as the Big Lock on the Trent and Mersey Canal in Middlewich shown on the right, had stables attached where the boat horse would be stabled overnight, that's the low building on the left of the main building.

A large number of the old pubs have been completely refurbished over the years and now provide comfortable surroundings and meals for those who don't want to have to cook on their holidays. Most have convenient moorings outside, some even providing facilities like water taps, but moorings can fill up in the early evening at popular pubs. Many boaters plan their holidays to ensure that they stop outside a pub every evening! Often they also have outdoor seating and gardens, and children's play areas.

There are also many traditional canal pubs which have been little changed over centuries, retaining much genuine character. Many pubs used to be ordinary houses serving home-brewed ale in their front rooms for a little extra income. Some still feel that way, for instance, the Anchor on the Shropshire Union Canal. Other traditional pubs include the isolated Black Lion at Froghall on the Caldon branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal, the Swan which overlooks the Coventry Canal junction with the Trent and Mersey Canal and the Boat opposite the canal museum at Stoke Bruerne on the Grand Union Canal. On the River Severn the Camp House Inn just north of Worcester has peacocks roaming the garden. The River Thames has many stunning old pubs and inns.