Today has been dry and warm but we've had a covering of cloud which has made it feel quite oppressive. Sophie went off to work and Keith and I dropped my Dad's car back to him first thing as he had plans to drive to Tesco's with Mum today to do their shopping. I think it's a bit too soon, but he was adamant he wanted to go.
At lunchtime Keith and I decided to go for a "mooch" - a term we use for wandering around our beautiful countryside and exploring pubs. We headed for the The Saracen's Head at Little Brington first, a pub I used to deliver to last year when I worked for Majestic. There was another couple at the bar but that was it, so it was very quiet. We stood and had a drink and chatted, occasionally glancing at the television in the corner which was showing the World Cup.
From here, we drove to the next village of Great Brington, and The Althorp Coaching Inn. This was a lot busier with people enjoying the sunshine in the garden and several men in the bar reading papers and watching the football. There was a lovely relaxed atmosphere in the pub and smells of woodsmoke permeated the air. This is a heavenly place on a cold winter's night when they have the log fires burning!
From Great Brington we drove across country to Long Buckby and The Old Kings Head. It's tucked away in the middle of this large village and we nearly had a mishap in the car park when I parked on some broken glass!
There was a private function on in one of the bars so we had to go into the "snug" and we had to wait a good while to be served, so that wasn't a good start! This pub seems to have jumped firmly onto the Gin bandwagon and had a huge range of Gins behind the bar, accompanied by every tonic that Fever Tree produce. Keith just had a half pint here and we went to sit in the comfortable chairs in the corner which was very relaxing and beat standing at the bar which we'd done previously!
Our last pub of the day was supposed to have been The New Inn at Long Buckby Wharf but it's situated on the very busy A5 (and on the side of a canal) and as we approached I could see queues of cars waiting to park. We sped on and saw a sign for Ashby St Ledgers so we decided to go to The Olde Coach House instead. We went a long time ago and haven't been back since so we were surprised to see it quite changed from years ago and it's now a pub with rooms. This village has links with Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder plot, but there was very little mention of it in the pub, just a lot of white wood and stone flagged floors. The round here was the most expensive of the whole mooch - £6.30 for a pint of beer and a Fever Tree tonic - but the service and friendliness was the best. Keith wasn't happy with his beer and it was changed without any fuss. We stood at the bar and chatted and soaked up the relaxed atmosphere. Hopefully we won't leave it so long before we go back again!
The drive home took us through the stunning Northamptonshire countryside, passing through the villages of West Haddon, Ravensthorpe, Spratton and Brixworth. The cloud hadn't lifted at all and it was very warm.
We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and in the evening I helped Keith cook Beef Stroganoff for dinner. Mike was out with friends so didn't make it to the table!
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