We did have a drink in the Daventry Weatherspoon's, The Scarenshead that had been an old coaching inn. However for the first time I can recall there was no different beers on offer so I wont record it here. We then left Braunston, once the stoppage was clear. We were the first boat in the queue, but there were plenty of folk trying to organise everybody but themselves. The chaos hence caused dissipated at Hatton Junction as we stopped and met up with John and Marilyn on their boat. We then descended the Buckby Locks but unfortunately, due to the lock restrictions for water saving, we caught them up again!
Anchor Cottage Craft shop is by Lock 8 on the Buckby flight. There was a bit of the queue at the locks with the numbers going down so Helen had enough time to go and have a poke about. She came back empty handed and as you can see the whether didn't even lend itself to an ice cream!
Our next stop was Weedon Bec where we visited the antique shop and came away with a corner unit for our daughter's new house. We also walked up to the military arsenal building from the Napoleonic wars through to well after WWII. The picture is of the gatehouse that was where the goods were brought via the Grand Union Canal. There is still a portcullis below. The canal passed down the route of the street between the new houses top left. The gatehouse has a little museum in it now and well worth a poke about. Check for times when it is open, but you can now walk around the site, rather than dodge the security guard as in the past.
Another night we moored not far past Stowe Hill Wharf of Rugby Boats fame and decided to walk into Nether Heyford for a look see. It is a large village, with a very big green with shops and pubs etc. The oldest part of the town has some lovely old buildings and a nice stroll around on a Sunday.
Our next stop was at Gayton marina where we left the boat for a week for a visit home. When we returned the weather had smartened up somewhat and when we set off down the Northampton flight the sun was shining. As we passed under the motorway we could see the elevator tower in the distance so knew we were getting close. Once moored up we sett off to track down the several pubs that the town has to offer. The first was not far away at all.
Just on the street from the canal and head up towards the town and just before you cross the bridge over the Nene is the Pomfret Arms. At first glance it maybe thought that this was an old coaching inn, but the size of the building and the low height of the passageway reveal this not to be true. In fact in 1805 it was advertised for sale as a yard owned by a carrier and it was going to be very close to the the river/rail basin that was just about to open. The agricultural machinery factory was moving out, although it may well have been a pub or beer house before hand as it was already called the Pomfret Arms! A later sall advertised that its cellar could hold sixty hogsheads of beer! The pub is named after the Earl of Pomfret 1770 to 1833, although there is a type of fish by that name! The 4th and 5th Earls were soldiers but as the last died without issue the title died with him. The has a nice front bar with a games room off and extensive gardens leading down to the river. They have live music frequently. It used to be owned by the Phipps Brewery that was just a little further up the road.
The other great thing about the Pomfret Arms is that it is the tap for the Cotton End Micro brewery that actauly brews using a small kit in the stables that are alongside the garden. The brewery started in 2014 and pretty much only brewed for the pub. They now pass it on to other local pubs too. It was started up by four fellers, enthusiastic beer drinks, and they wanted to experiment. I remember the last time I was in here I went for a pint of beer that had lemon grass in the title. I'm not sure if it was the same spaced wheat beer that they brew now, but it was enough to put me off ordering any beer with lemon grass in the list of ingredients. The brewery is named after the area that was just out of the town called Cotton End.
They had five hand pulls on the bar but only one of them from the Cotton End Brewery so I chose that, the Conker Classic at 4.3%. This was brewed to celebrate the 10th anniversary of an autumn classic English festival when a conker tournament is held in the pub garden below the boughs of an old horse chestnut tree. It is an amber ale and came with a rather this head but a nice colour. It was pleasant enough but seemed to fall between two stools, failing to be sweet or bitter etc, and so you could say it was well balance I suppose. It was pleasant enough but not standing out in any way. The pub is well worth a visit and next time I'm there I hope they have their award winning coffee porter on the go.
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