13/05/23 - Centenary Way - Stage 18 - Harbury

 A bold claim is made - Harbury, the village with the most pubs in the UK

Back on the Centenary Way. After many disasters (HS2, Overgrown fields, failed stiles) it's OK to have a mundane, uninspiring walk with no hazards.

This is completed across agricultural land, heading South from the village of Harbury, meeting the M40 and turning back. Where there are crops, there are good paths through them. When there is mud, its manageable.

Good paths along the rape fields

Bluebells in Itchington Halt

Harbury village adds some much needed interest, with varied architecture, civil war history and a bold claim from the author of my guide book.

Harbury Mill - Currently Scaffold clad, but picture found on Flickr

Stephen Cross, Centenary Way guide book author and former mayor of Warwick, claims that Harbury has the highest number of public houses of any village in the UK. Stephen claims many watering holes were required to support the navvies from the nearby Oxford canal. Internet based research offers no collaboration of this fact so we can only use the evidence in front of us. 

The population is 2500 souls and until recently, there used to be 5 pubs. The Old New Inn and the Dog Inn have both gone. The former, for having a stupid name. The latter to create a nursery. Although judging by the behaviour of the after school mums who get tanked up on proscecco on a Friday afternoon, ruing the ambiance in the snug in MY local, closure was totally unnecessary. Let the kids run riot in the boozer. I'll take the crossword and my Butty Bach to Wacky Warehouse.

This leaves 3 pubs and there's little information to give Mappiman the information of which to visit. Few reviews on Pubsgalore. No Good Beer Guide Entries (Correction: And proof no one reads the blog to correct me - there is one!). Google reviews scream "avoid the Crown", but this may be a personal vendetta.

I was going to try the Gamecock but this looked uninviting, all in darkness but the door open to show its functioning.

This left the Shakespeare. A solid name for a Warwickshire pub and the sponsor of the local rugby club. Also the biggest in the village.

And the centre of all gossip.    

Largest pub in the village with most pubs.

Hard not to eavesdrop, especially when the groups of ladies voices drops to a pitch that you know the good stuff is coming. Only there 30 minutes and I learn who is the village cocaine addict is and the married teacher who is having an affair with one of the sixth formers.

Surprisingly, its not the same person.

Pub wise - you know you are in trouble when the menu is laminated and the size of a duvet. How many burger variations is too many? 

The Purity Ubu was more than serviceable and making up for the horrorshow of loaded chips, when all you wanted was a nice sandwich.

Chesterfields and a handsome pint of LocALE

Walk Information

Distance - 8 Miles

Geocaches - 6

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15, Stage 16, Stage 17