August 2025. Atherstone. Warwickshire.
In tests, 99% of Brits couldn’t place Atherstone on a map to within 200 miles,
One of the 1% is my own father-in-law, who lived here before trading down to Kent, and our own Stafford Paul, who had been making the “curated pub exploration” community jealous with tales of Proper Pubs and Draught Bass all year.
A canalside market town of 9,212 souls, smaller than I thought, that once employed 3,000 (2021 – nil) in the felt hat industry. The Wiki entry tells of muniments, burgage (good Bass there*) and vill;
“A manuscript discovered by Marjorie Morgan among the muniments of Cambridge’s King’s College (Ms. C9), refers to the creation of nine new burgage strips from land belonging to seven of the tenants in Atherstone vill.“
If you’re not careful these pub crawls curated explorations can lack the cultural diversions you follow me for, so I caught the morning train like Sheena Easton, fortified by almond croissant from the kiosk outside Sheffield station.
The Cross Country leg to Tamworth is remarkably quiet, where’s the Thursday hen and stag trade ?
Apart from Lichfield, the towns along the A5 aren’t hotbeds of tourism. But as with Shifnal and Wem, us Pub Men endeavour to sell them to you.
Which is just as well, as Atherstone’s own tourism is a bit underwhelming.
I’ve got an hour before Will and the boys arrive, an hour to take photos of pubs we won’t be going in,
an hour to take photos of pubs we won’t be going in,
and visit the Heritage Centre that Chat GPT assures me will be open, it being Market Day.
Obviously, it’s closed, so I will have to go back later this week to examine their collection of dried milk and school ties.
It’s a prettier town than I remember (last visit c. 2010), with a lot of independent shops and some real quirkiness.
There seems to have been an argument over which colour to paint this doorway.
Just as I’m standing gawping, a familiar voice stirs me.
“The pasties are eating well”.
Well, if Stafford Paul recommends them, what can I do. It was a bit heavy so soon after that croissant, mind.
More disappointment in the market square, where St. Mary’s is also shut,
and the Friday market shows what happens when you open a giant Tesco in a small town.
A few hours later the two market squares would be heaving.
Just time to admire the Sex Pistols** in the 2nd hand record shop, and a pub that CAMRA describes as “basic”,
and sprint for opening at the King’s Head.
Obviously, Paul was already there.
*Joke
**Any similarities between the Pistols and our own Pub Men is entirely coincidental
retiredmartin 
Almond croissants, eh? It was very kind of the Belgians or French to invent Bakewell Pudding, as well as chips.
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I’m always keen for my readers to know that my train snacks are more sophisticated than BRAPA’s.
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Blimey I’ve got a lot of comments to read. Not complaining.
A gooey almond croissant is a thing of wonder.
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“Warwickshire”
(shudder)
Sorry, that name makes me shiver as it was my sister’s last name for 31 years, till she finally decided to call it quits last year (and I was her virtual shoulder to cry on over the phone). Just one of the (many) weak excuses I had for being away so long. 😉
“in the felt hat industry”
Didn’t they slowly morph into peaked caps?
(I have one!)
“so I caught the morning train like Sheena Easton”
Too bad that wasn’t a Shania Twain song; it would’ve rhymed better.
“as Atherstone’s own tourism is a bit underwhelmin”
Hang on; they were part of the infamous Roman Watling Street*? And I thought wattle was something an Aussie held in his hand whilst pledging allegiance to the flag (according to Monty Python).
*- I hadn’t heard of either Atherstone or the Roman Watling Street prior to now)
“Obviously, it’s closed”
Have you tried rebooting or updating your ChatGPT?
“There seems to have been an argument over which colour to paint this doorway.”
It would appear pink won out by a smidgen.
“A few hours later the two market squares would be heaving.”
Earthquake? Or are they allowing fracking in the UK once again? 🙂
Cheers
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It’s like you’ve never been away.
Must check what you’ve said on BRAPA.
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Was there really a call for all those people to spend their time feeling hats?
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Yes, folk willingly pay 85p to feel hats. In 2025. Don’t knock other people’s hobbies.
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Sorry to hear about your recent traumas, Russ. I’ve found my own blog a useful way to write about my own family issues in recent years (Mum died, Dad in dementia home). Feel free to outpour here.
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An earthquake caused by Pub Men rushing for the bar.
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Watling Street used to have some great pubs along its length, Russ, but mostly Marston eateries now.
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“in the felt hat industry”
Didn’t they slowly morph into peaked caps?”
No Russ, the felt hats were exported to the West Indies for giving slaves on the sugar plantations some protection from the blazing sun – Personal Protective Equipment in its infancy.
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