The traditional country pub with 'one of the biggest beer gardens in Shropshire'

For the past five years the pub has been run by the husband-and-wife team of Sam and Rebecca Hill.

It's the first time the couple have run a pub together, but Sam, 46, has been in hospitality for more than 26 years now having gone into the industry soon after leaving school.

Speaking about this, the 41-year-old says: "It is a tough industry, but it is what I have known pretty much all my life after school, and I sort of fell into it as I did not know what I wanted to do.

"It is a tough job and I say that as you get older, the tougher it actually gets.

"The whole hospitality industry has been through and is still going through an incredibly tough time, with the Covid pandemic and now the cost of living crisis.

"We took over in 2018 and were rolling really well before Covid, but that really knocked us.

"However we were quite lucky as just three months before the initial lockdown, I had set up a takeaway in the pub, and so whilst everything was locked down we ran a fish and chip takeaway during that time from the pub, and it helped us massively to get through that time, otherwise we could have shut down.

"It really kept us going, and it was popular with the locals, and we had customers from around a six or seven-mile radius, and it helped maintain the relationships we had with our regulars too.

"Again, we are lucky and blessed to still be here because you hear about publicans closing down all around us, and so we are grateful to still be here on the other side."

Many businesses were lost during the pandemic, especially in the pub trade, and now with the cost of living crisis, these establishments are continuing to close their doors for good as bills spiral out of control.

Sam emphasises they were lucky to still be here, amid all the pub closures around the country and also in their area.

He adds: "We reopened with a beer garden and a marquee which has gone well since launching.

"We run regular events in the beer garden and marquee, and have two weddings coming up this summer, we host many parties, weddings, christenings, funerals, it is really popular.

"The beer garden we have is one of the biggest in Shropshire I think, and we really do utilise that in the summer, as it is the summer trade that helps get you through the winter.

"Though we have the marquee, the beer garden, and the food we serve, we are not trying to be big-time, or a gastro pub, we are a traditional country pub that serves fresh food, that uses the local butchers, helping the local economy all around, using the local suppliers and produce, which benefits everyone around here.

"We just put out good quality pub food with good beers, that's the main thing.

"Along with using local suppliers for food, we also have the drinks of local breweries too, and the customers really like them.

"And it helps that we have a wide variety of ages that come through our doors. Being a country pub, and set in the countryside, you can think that our age of custom would be a bit older, but we have a nice mix and it keeps everything flowing.

"We welcome everyone here, young or old, and families too.

"We have two kids ourselves and so we wanted to make this a family oriented pub, and so children are welcomed with their families, and we are building new swings for them to use and it is a pleasant environment where anyone is welcome to come and visit."