The Wharf Tavern, Goldstone, Nr. Market Drayton.

Goldstone, Market Drayton, Shropshire, TF9 2LP.

Telephone:01630 661226

Website

Next to bridge 55 on The Shropshire Union canal, The Wharf Tavern is a picturesque Pub and Restaurant complete with canalside gardens, childrens play area, boathouse holiday cottage and caravan site.

Reviews

Submitted by Mike Saunders - 13th July 2009

A group of us booked a couple of night's camping on one of the adjacent fields and on the Friday night ate at the pub. It was very very busy and the staff seemed very stressed. The menu was limited and fairly expensive. we found the food below average and certainly not good value for money. The most memorable event concerned one of our group. She ordered fish and chips. When the meal arrived it was just fish. It took some time to get the waitresses attention. When she asked about the missing chips she was informed that a bowl had been placed on the adjacent table where part of the group were seated. These chips had now been all consumed. The waitress refused to get anymore and disappeared into the kitchen muttering that troublemakers should eat elsewhere. 

PS - The campsite had only one combined shower and toilet for two fields of caravans and tents!!! Not quite what you expect these days.

Submitted by Admin - 16th March 2009

We found this beautiful caravan site by accident when doing a 'Google Search' for caravan sites in Shropshire. With a new grandchild on the way (very shortly) we didn't want to go too far but having been caravanning for so many years it's surprising that we didn't know about this one, practically on our doorstep.

We arrived at about 1.00 pm on the Friday lunchtime. Although very welcoming, the staff seemed a little laid back as they had no interest in taking our money until we had settled in and were happy. We found our pitch and got set up which took us a while as we'd decided to try out our new awning. The pitches are all hard standing and very good quality. A lot of money has obviously been spent on this small caravan site in readiness for this season - and it shows! We never had to walk more than a few feet for water, the hook up facilities are all brand new and the site is discreetly lit at night.

Back to getting set up - we finished at around 2.50 pm and I headed off to the the pub, partly because we still needed to pay for our pitch and partly for a well earned pint.

Image my surprise when they told me that they were just about to close at 3.00 pm! I'm not sure whether this will continue throughout the summer but with caravans arriving from mid-day onwards each Friday it would be a welcome source of refreshment. I was still not able to pay for my pitch and had to return again during the evening to do so (perhaps a clever marketing ploy to get you in there!).

The pub and caravan site is right on the canal edge and the clientele seemed to be made up of a mixture of caravanners, boating people and 'locals'. The staff were extremely friendly as were the boating fraternity who seemed to be 'passing through'. we didn't eat at the pub on this occasion but the restaurant was busy and was highly recommended by the locals which must say something about the quality of the food.

If we had to choose our 'top ten' caravan sites throughout the UK, this one would certainly appear somewhere in the list - and I imagine that as the warm weather arrives it can only get better. The area is very picturesque with narrow boats passing by within a few yards of the caravan. There are extensive gardens which will make a beautiful setting in the summer.

If I have any complaints at all they are very minor and are outside the control of the proprietors.

1. There was no phone signal at all on our mobile phones (O2) but Jayne had a perfect signal on 'Orange'.

2. My mobile broadband was virtually non existent too.

3. The geology of the area is such that the soil is very 'red' (obviously a high iron content) and I imagine that it could create havoc with pale green caravan carpets on a wet day. However, with such good quality hard standings it hardly seemed to matter.

Will we return? Most certainly - and soon!