- A Great Day Out? We certainly hope so! -
Trip Log: 10th May 2025 with unbroken sunshine predicted so it should be a perfect spring day. The trains across from Wolverhampton and Birmingham Moor Street make a seamless connection, ensuring I'm readily in position for our intended 11:14 am rendezvous on Platform 2 of Warwick railway station. Construction work continues here to install a much-needed lift facility, meaning the pedestrian underpass is currently out of commission. We exit onto Lakin Road, confirming that the Wild Boar has transferred back into Everard's ownership and then discussing Nick's forthcoming holiday in the Lake District.
- Bridge 47, Grand Union Canal -
His Royal Majesty knows Warwick like the back of his hand and has picked out a suitable walk with which to get our investigations underway. Guy Street therefore leads to Coten End and onwards along Emscote Road, the main A445 towards Leamington. Pubs such as the Black Pug and the Elephant & Castle are familiar from previous adventures but we do cover newer territory courtesy of Charles Street, passing the Nelson Club function suite to briefly join the towpath of the Grand Union Canal. It may only be a short stretch between Bridges 48 and 46 but I still enjoy seeing it for the very first time, passing underneath All Saints Road to emerge alongside a large Tesco superstore. A quick peek at the River Avon - complete with a flotilla of Saturday morning paddleboarders - precedes our first drink of the day...
- Slaughterhouse Brewery Tap -
Nick can be a devious fellow on occasions and having teased me with the likelihood of the Nelson being our opening candidate, he casually has us stumbling upon the Slaughterhouse Brewery Tap as if by magic. I'd heard the local brewers had set up their own taphouse but had no idea as to its Bridge Street location, based in the very outhouse where they've done the vast majority of production since their 2003 inception. 'Poking the Bear' proves a refreshing golden appetiser while we get chatting to some chaps from Solihull who are similarly dropping by for their first visit. It's only a small venue, maybe room for three or four bench tables plus outdoor drinking, and the microbrewery plant comprises a four barrel operation with room upstairs for supporting the home brew community.
- The Obligatory Eastgate Picture -
Having poked the bear and lived to tell the tale, Nick makes good on his Nelson promise albeit this pub is certainly different now to how I remember it from our 2017 Festive Forage. Having seemingly dispensed with the 'Lord' bit of the title (along with any associated nautical themes), it has transformed into an Indian bar and grill with an extensive range of vegetarian dishes. Meat eaters are catered for too, hence we both partake of the chicken biryani as served in stove pots with burner clasps below. The food is very moreish, complete with a curried fried egg and just the right amount of spicing for my tastebuds. The meal sets us up nicely for seeing more of Warwick, including the ever-compulsory photo of the historic Eastgate.
- Dough & Brew -
Keen to ensure I'm sampling hostelries I haven't previously frequented, Nick next suggests a couple of widely contrasting establishments. The Warwick Arms Hotel is a grand old coaching inn on High Street and has had some notable guests among its clientele down the years, such as a certain Mr Frank Sinatra. The current building replaced an earlier inn and presumably dates from 1717 if the lettering is to be believed; we partake of a relaxed half of Wainwright Gold whilst slumped in a very comfortable sofa before relocating to Brook Street for Dough & Brew, a trendy pizza emporium with something in the region of eight craft taps. Church Farm IPA is the Warwickshire offering from these drinks options whilst the pizzas are grouped into cultural pairs such as Rene and Yvette (for French flavourings),Lord and Lady Ponsonby (for any fans of asparagus) or Mork and Mindy (for zany American toppings) - intriguing!
- A Saintly Corner in the Old Post Office -
Our desire to uncover fresh haunts must not come at the expense of revisiting any favourites, and in Nick's case they don't come much more favoured than the Old Post Office. He's been a fan of this West Street micropub since it started trading in 2014, and we're pleased to report the place seems as good as ever. Mellow live music is underway today thanks to a bearded chap playing acoustic guitar, but there's space at the back for a quiet slurp of Liquid Light's Dark Hollow porter amongst the ecclesiastical portraits and prayer boards. We refrain from uttering the Magnificat in favour of chatting about politics, covering recent Presidential antics in America as well as the worrying developments between India and Pakistan. Scary times!
- Living la Vida in the Kings Head -
It's Race Day at Warwick Racecourse so we feel a tad underdressed compared to the fancy frocks and sharp suits flocking to study the equine formbooks. Vittle Drive prepares us for a Saltisford swansong whereby Nick has picked out a final couple of pubs we haven't been to for several years. The Antelope is close at hand for a cracking half of Theakston's Quencher, an ale I'll look out for again in future; there is a military association here with the fact that the Royal Warwickshire Regiment had an antelope called Bobby as their prized mascot. Further up the road is the Kings Head which seems to have switched allegiance portrait-wise from James I to Henry VIII. Old Golden Hen and the Bournemouth v Aston Villa evening kick off make for the notable aspects here, aside from some funky floral decorations.
- Scouting history at Priory Park -
After that most excellent crawl, all that remains is for us to steadily plot our way back to the railway station. The footpaths of Priory Park thus beckon, the grassy expanses having formed the grounds of the former Warwick Priory until it was dissolved during the monastic purges of the aforementioned King Henry VIII. Warwickshire County Records Office occupies part of the site and a plinth recalls the two times (in 1958 and 1979) when the park played host to Scout gatherings, hence a reference to Amikaro meaning 'welcome' in Esperanto. We pick our way through the trees to reach Platform One in plenty of time for our trains home, job done!
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