Cross Guns is a pub at Avoncliff, remembered in the novel as the setting for Milo Motion’s night out and the mishap that followed when he returned to his boat. Its position beside the canal places it close to the moorings and the stretch of water leading toward the aqueduct.

Setting and Approach

Milo describes his boat as tied up at a mooring just above Cross Guns, on the canal before the aqueduct. The pub and the waterway are therefore linked by a short return from shore to boat: after his visit, he opened the boat and stumbled as he pulled the door open.

Milo’s Visit

Milo had gone out alone after dark, treating himself to a meal and a few beers. He says that he was unusually the worse for drink. As he returned to the boat, his keys slipped from his hand and fell over the side into the canal. The loss was irritating, but he had spare keys, so the immediate mishap did not leave him without access to the boat.