Just over a week ago Mum, Dad, Mark and I went out to the Hadley Bowling Green Inn for a meal to celebrate their 49th Wedding Anniversary. It was a lovely evening. The food was a little bit different, showed some originality on the part of the chef and it wasn't too pricey. When Mark and I first moved to the area, it was a fantastic place to eat and it was a treat to walk over there to sit next to the log fire with sandwiches and a bottle of wine. Unfortunately the quaint atmosphere of the place was ruined by a really unsympathetic modernisation of the bars about 12 years ago.
We stopped calling in because it didn't feel so 'special' anymore. We heard through local gossip that it wasn't doing well as a business and it was eventually closed and boarded up. Recently new people have re-started the business and they seem to pitched things right. There's a lot of really good 'eating pubs' in our area so they had to create a menu that was going to attract people to a pub in the middle of nowhere.
Luckily for us, it's also conveniantly placed about halfway round a six mile walk. Perfect for a lunch stop when the sun is shining! Here's the walk that we did today...
We crossed the Droitwich canal at a little hamlet called Ladywood.
We then dropped down into the shallow Salwarpe valley..
Even the little river Salwarpe showed signs of flooding from earlier in the week..
Here's the front of the pub.
It's a delightfully quaint old building and it's lovely to see windows again rather than boards.
Here's the bowling green that gives the pub it's name.
And here's the fireplace in the bar...!
We had sandwiches and chips (very nice) but my days of drinking a bottle of wine at lunchtime are well and truely over!!!
Thank you to everyone who left comments on my last post. It really helped me to read your experiences too. Also a huge welcome to my new follower - Marina.
What a pretty place to go for a spot of lunch, and I should imagine that it breaks up the walk very nicely. Glad to hear that someone's taken it on, so sad to see so many businesses boarded up these days. We've been to York looking at the uni with Daniel today and we passed both the River Ouse and River Wharf on the A64, the flooding is dreadful. There's a football pitch at the side of the Ouse and you can only just see the crossbars of the goalposts they're under so much water. Luckily, the uni is unaffected.
ReplyDeleteI love to go out for a pub lunch and its sad so many pubs have closed over the last few years. It's nice to call in for a treat after going out for a lovely walk. I think this is the best day of the weekend, it goes downhill again tomorrow so you made the most of the weather!
ReplyDeleteHow very strange - I have just had a phone call from a friend who had lunch there last week whilst on holiday and said what a fabulous place it was! 2 recommendations in one day. I shall have to bookmark this venue!!
ReplyDeleteweekend blessings x
What a pretty building, and the outdoor furniture looks nice too. So good to hear of a pub re opening, let's hope they make a success of it.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you are having a bad time at work. I can sympathise. There are not many plus point to my job and some colleagues make life intolerable. You were right - Ive been to see George Michael this evening on his Symphonica Orchestra Tour. Absolutely brilliant. I love the man. xxxx
ReplyDeleteIt looks a lovely pub and it's great to see it open as so many country pubs are closing nowadays. Sorry to read in your last post about your troubles at a work. I do hope things will improve for you:)
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely pub, how lucky it is a nice walk away. It looks very cozy.
ReplyDeleteHope you are doing well.
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