The community pub near Shrewsbury which has enjoyed a refurbishment and new vision
As pubs continue to battle the cost of living crisis, the Shropshire Star continues its Love Your Local series which celebrates our local inns.
Within small communities and villages outside of big towns and cities, a pub can be more than just a place to get a pint.
It can be a community hub, a place for people to meet up and chat and see friends, as well as a vital hub for entertainment and the night time economy of the village.
One pub which is a good example of this is the Beeches in Bayston Hill, a village situated three miles to the south of Shrewsbury and which has expanded over the years to have a bigger population than Shropshire towns such as Church Stretton and Pontesbury.
Built in 1965 by the Wolverhampton and Dudley Brewery, the Beeches was built for the working class community of the village and designed to be a place where people could go for a drink after work.
Over time, the ownership of the pub has changed hands and now sits as a Marston's pub and is currently managed and run by Ben Adams since September.
Mr Adams had previously been the manager of the Bull's Head in Shrewsbury town centre and said that while he enjoyed running that pub, he wanted to run a pub that was more community-focussed.
He said: "The Bull was great and very wet-led and most of the clientèle were passing trade who were calling in off their trains, doing what they were doing and then moving on.
"When the opportunity arose for the Beeches, it was the complete flip side of that as there is very little passing trade and it's all people who are local to the area who are coming in and you have to build a relationship with them.
"They're in regularly and you know who they are and what they drink and it's really nice because it's a community pub where people speak to each other and meet up and speak to us and want to know what we're doing and what's going on."
Mr Adams said when he took over, he felt that the pub had been neglected and needed some love and spoke about the changes he and his team began to implement.
He said: "What we saw was opportunity and there was a hope that we could implement a new vision and re-invigorate the premises.
"This started with the kitchen, which was closed and not operational and people were crying out for somewhere to go for food without having to go into Shrewsbury and a lot of the feedback we got from people was that they wanted to be able to stay in the village.
"They didn't want to go into town as that's travel inside a car or taxi or parking or getting lifts, but if something is on their doorstep, they'd much rather stay local and support a business which is integral to their village."
The pub has become a community hub, with male and female darts teams, a dominoes team and football team, as well as being a place for a ukulele club, bowling club and book club and an entertainment space for people looking to run events.
Mr Adams said the pub had also become a place for a decent pint and a good meal and spoke about the changes to the drink selection.
He said: "When we moved in, I looked at the drink selection and spoke to people about their hopes and aspirations and swapped over five of the draft brands and introduced Inch's Cider, Cruzcampo, Camden Hells, Hobgoblin and Session IPA, as people wanted modern drinks.
"We also got back the handpulls and offer Banks's Amber, Wainwright Gold and Lilly Cider, which has gone down better than we thought it might.
"What we find is that if people come for one drink, they want it to be a good one, and we also opened up the wine range with Sauvignon Blanc and Malbec, as well as a large spirits selection, and people like premium these days, so if they're paying their money, they want to get a good drink."
The food selection has improved massively as well, with the pub offering hanging kebabs with a choice of glaze, traditional pub classics like Hunters Chicken and Gammon, as well as winter specials such as Lasagne and Lamb Shanks.
Mr Adams said he felt the pub could be a proper community hub and be a place for everyone to enjoy.
He said: "I think the important part of this pub is that it can be an asset that people can utilise, that they can meet people in, play pool in and watch sports, as well as be a place for the younger generation to enjoy.
"It's about having affordable options and smaller portions and having a place that doesn't cost the earth and people can know is for them to enjoy."
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