Beers, Boats and Boozers, 2018. No.32

Next day we set off, but stopped after a short distance to fill up with water. I hope that the wharf by the bridge does not get built on like many others.

A prominent pill box shows that the canals were to be used as halt lines during WW1 in case of invasion. They may have held up an advance but you wouldn't have thought that putting a bridge acroos would take much with our little narrow canals.

The Tyrley Locks lift the canal over the sandstone ridge so are quite picturesque, but being rock cut there is little space. 

The lack of space means that the by-washes run out right at the bottom of the lock and when there are boats moving they can be fierce. Plenty of speed needed as rudders don't work without a flow of water over them.

At the top of the five locks is the wharf. It was a private wharf at the start but grew and became a little microcosm of the canal with a stables, a pub as well as housing for workers, lengthsmen etc. During WW2 Cadbury leased the wharf to pick up milk churns from local frams to carry to their factory at Knighton.

There are views to the distant hills of the Wrekin.

This stretch of canal is thought of a just a long straight cutting but this well overgrown bend is the lead up to the Woodseaves Cutting

This is the well named High Bridge half way down the cutting.

The quite monotonous length of offside moorings is quite exposed and a hirer boater was having great trouble not landing alongside the moored boats. There was some relief from the boredom provided by the 15th century church at high Offley.

We didn't stop at the Anchor in this time. Many will have explored this old boatmans pub that still served beer by the jug from the back room last time I was there at least.

We did stop at Gnosall Heath and went for a walk to the Boat Inn by bridge 34. The oldest part of the building was probably a farm workers cottage. They always seem to have very good hanging baskets here. The interior has no TV's or music but does have flock wall paper, and swirly carpet.

When the canal was built through the village the cottage was bought by the canal company and was extended to form a post station for the change of horses on the express fly boats that ran backwards and forwards. I was disappointed with the choice of ales on as they were just 'standards', Bombadier, Wainwright and a Bank's beer.

Bank's started brewing in 1874 and the next year they built their Park Brewery in Wolverhampton. By 1890 they had decided to join several other breweries to form Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries. The principal brewery remained in Wolverhampton. They continued to acquire other breweries and pubs before they changed their name to Marston's in 2007.

I tried the Amber Bitter, 3.8%. A pale bitter with a bit of a taste to match! A session ale that doesn't hit you in the mouth, but after a few over a night you may grow to like it.