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Willeymoor Lock Tavern, Shropshire: pub review

Don't all barge in at once: the Willeymoor Lock Tavern
Don't all barge in at once: the Willeymoor Lock Tavern

Pottering along the Llangollen Canal, you can’t miss the Willeymoor Lock Tavern. You may well find yourself, unnerved, operating lock number 12 under the critical eyes of customers in the beer garden, a yard or so from the water’s edge – the pub used to be the lock-keeper’s cottage.

There was a time when the seasoned beer drinker had to memorise pub opening hours... we called it the Knowledge

Finding the place by road is a trickier matter. It lies at the end of a long narrow lane off the A49: it is easy to miss the pub sign, high above driver eye level, on a pole. I passed it the first time and ended up on the outskirts of Whitchurch, frothing with rage.

There’s a further complication. There was a time, long ago, when the seasoned beer drinker had to memorise pub opening hours. You had to know, for example that Oxford countryside pubs opened in the morning half an hour earlier than those in the city, or that there were pubs around Covent Garden open in the early hours. We called it “The Knowledge”.

All that changed with deregulation several years back, but the Tavern is one of those rare places that still sticks to the old-style opening hours, in this case 12pm-2.30pm and 6pm-11pm (10.30pm on Sundays). 

Another sign of the times. In summer, there are up to half a dozen local cask beers on offer. “We try to source them from within 35 miles of here,” said the lady behind the bar. That might sound limiting – not so, there are 50 breweries in Cheshire and Shropshire these days. 

What is the collective noun for a collection of teapots?

Firstly, for the purposes of meditation, I chose Station Bitter, a copper-coloured 3.9% offering from the Stonehouse Brewery in Oswestry, Shropshire. I sipped appreciatively while contemplating the pub’s extraordinary collection of teapots. (What is the collective noun for a collection of teapots? A cosy? A brew? A plantation?)

Next, to go with my fish, chips and peas (fresh, not mushy), I went for Sir Philip, another coppery bitter, a bit stronger at 4.2%, from the Wincle Brewery, Cheshire. Both were new to me and both very fine.  The menu is extensive and portions nothing if not generous. I asked for a small portion and was told, not unkindly, “You’ll get what you’re given.” 

Tarporley Road, Nr Whitchurch, Shropshire SY13 4HF 

01948 663274; willeymoorlock.co.uk