Visiting the pubs of Foxton

Looking for a change of scene we decided to take a trip out to visit the pubs of Foxton. We caught the X3 Arriva bus service towards Market Harborough, alighting at Gallowfield Road / Leicester Lane. Arriva route 44 runs from this point to Foxton village. It also passes Market Harborough Station for those who wish to travel by train. However we wanted some exercise so we walked back down Harborough Road to the canal and set off along the canal towpath towards Foxton, a distance of about 1½ miles.

The walk along the towpath was enlivened by glimpses of rabbits in the extensive system of burrows in the ground beside the towpaths and the variety of water birds to be seen on the canal. Evidence for the strange spring we have had was to be found in the varying size the ducklings swimming in family groups.

The Black Horse is in the position of a traditional village pub glowering across the road at the village church. It has two bars and a conservatory, which is set out for dining, with a maze of corridors connecting the bars and the exit to the gardens. The grounds are extensive with a small zoo at the bottom, containing a range of animals including geese, duck, rabbit and sheep, which will entertain the children. The pub is a Greene King house, which was selling Greene King IPA and Abbot on our visit. The IPA was sampled and was of indifferent quality.

From the Black Horse we retraced our steps towards the canal and continued down Main Street to the edge of the village to visit the Shoulder of Mutton.

This pub is set back some distance from the road, with benches set out in a grassy area at the front. The sign outside proclaims the pub’s great age. From the outside it looks the part, the extensions at the front is inkeeping with the building to the casual eye. Inside the extension provides a long narrow seating area with a wall between this and the rest of the seating and the bar. The area inside seems small in comparison with the exterior of the building.

New management had recently taken over the pub and the kitchen was closed for refurbishment on our visit, but is expected to serve Chinese food when it is ready. This is a Free House where we found the only mild and the only ale from  a micro-brewery on our travels. Beers available were Dow Bridge Bonum Mild, Everards Tiger, Greene King IPA and Greene King Old Speckled Hen. The Mild and Tiger were sampled and found to be in good condition.

From the Shoulder of Mutton we went back to the canal and continued along the towpath to Foxton Locks. Having worked out how to get through the works on the towpath, we found ourselves at Bridge 61. This pub is at the right hand end of a block containing a shop and a takeaway supplying passing boats. 

The pub consists of two rooms with bare brick walls covered in signs rescued from canals. Windows provide a view of passing canal traffic. The furniture is basic wood and cast iron. The food available here is simple, jacket potatoes and baguettes, at amazingly good value. The food and the beer come through hatches between the takeaway next door and the inner room. Real Ales available were Adnams Bitter, Batemans Taurus Ale and Everards Tiger. The Adnams and the Batemans were tasted and were in good condition.

We then crossed the canal at the foot of Foxton locks to visit our final pub, the Foxton Locks Inn. Scottish and Newcastle have put a lot of money into rebuilding this pub in recent times. A row of canal cottages had become a light and airy building decorated with canal memorabilia. There is an outdoor smoking area and benches to sit outside by the canal. The pub is fully accessible for wheelchair users.

Here we found the largest range of real ale on our walk. Adnams Explorer, Caledonian Deuchars IPA, Fullers London Pride, Greene King Old Speckled Hen, Theakstons Best and Old Peculier. It was also the best quality, but that hardly compensated for the price being 40p per pint more than every other pub.

In summary our findings are:

If you have children who would enjoy seeing the animals try the Black Horse and hope for better beer quality.

If you hope to see mild or real ales from microbreweries try the Shoulder of Mutton.

If you want the best quality and price is no problem try the Foxton Locks Inn.

But our first choice for a pub to return to is Bridge 61, which provides a building with some atmosphere and a choice of reasonable quality real ales. It was also the only pub with no Greene King products on the bar.

Whatever the feelings that people may have about the business practices of Greene King and the quality of their products, we should be able to agree that a monopoly supplier of a product in an area is not good news. The growing dominance of Greene King in areas such as this, is heading towards a monopoly and we must hope that Licensees will choose other products where they can.

Sue Wilkins & Philip Tiplady.

This page last updated: June 3, 2008

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