Hopwas

After my shortened visit to Fazeley, I decided to head towards Kings Bromley Marina. This marina is part of the Aquavista group to which my own marina belongs. At the moment they have a scheme called Explore34, whereby I am allowed to spend up to 34 days a year in another Aquavista marina.

However, after half an hour or so, I stumbled across this village called Hopwas. I’d heard about this place and was told that moorings here are scarce as it is a popular place to stop. There’s actually nothing here really apart from two pubs, The Red Lion and The Tame Otter.

I still felt dirty after being robbed so I only cruised for this relatively short distance of a few kilometres.

Great names on some of these bridges. On this canal, bridges are normally named but on most canals, they are just numbered.

Lovely scenery around here too…

I was surprised to find plenty of moorings so I took my pick. As usual, everyone seems to follow me and moor up all around me. This happens wherever I go. It’s a little annoying sometimes especially when I just want some peace and quiet.

Above is where I moored. I half expected someone to squeeze in to the spot in between me and the bridge but I think I remember there was only one mooring ring. Anyone mooring there would have been stupid anyway as they would have been blocking half of the bridge.

The first evening I decided to try out one of the pubs and someone recommended The Red Lion for the food, so I went in there and was pleasantly suprised at how friendly it was. One of the barmen sorted me out with a table as most were reserved, which meant to me that it has to be good in here. He took my order and I decided to try a pale ale which I had never had before.

I should have covered this the other way around but in my mind, the beer was the main course and the meal was a side order.

I chose to have a cottage pie and wow that was fantastic too. I was really liking the Red Lion.

The chips were at no extra cost as the barman had a senior moment and thought that the cottage pie did come with chips, despite it being topped with mashed potato.

The beer garden was exceptional and had a lot of play areas for kids. It backed on to the canal too, however, I couldn’t quite make out my boat as it was just around the corner to the right.

So, well done to all the staff at the Red Lion. I had an absolutely top notch experience.

 

The only problem was that despite spending two nights there, I never got to try out the The Tame Otter. I just wanted to stay in on the second night, but it did seem fairly popular, so maybe I’ll pop in on the way back.