Community pub which became a place for all after couple made a chance stop there

The pub has been a feature of the town for many years, owned by Marstons, and has, since November last year, been run by husband and wife team Ryan and Julie Owen.

Ms Owen said the couple had been running another pub at the time, but had wanted to run their own pub and it took a chance visit to the Honeysuckle for them to realise they were in the right place.

She said: "We were just running a pub for somebody else and decided we wanted to run our own, and our daughter was graduating from university in Newport as she was at Harper Adams University.

"We popped in here for a drink and that was it. I've always had a thing for the old black and white buildings as they just look really nice and and I thought this was a beautiful building.

"I then went past the pub and down the bottom and saw the big decking area and the huge garden and I just thought it had a lot of potential, but also needed a lot of work."

Ms Owen said the pub had been described by locals as having gone downhill and they had stopped coming as a result, but after a lot of work, the pub had started to attract old customers again.

She said: "When we took over, we decorated all the way through and also painted all of the decking area at the back and tidied up the garden.

"We installed a pool table in one room so that we could have sports in there and just did a general tidy up, as well as having a defibrillator fitted outside the pub, for which we're having a big charity day on August 25 to raise funds for AED Donate and also to pay the insurance on the defibrillator.

"We've got the little snug where there's a fireplace which is more than 200 years old and which has soft furnishings, then there's the bar with seating and the pool table room, which also has a dartboard, and the big garden with the decking, so we've done quite a lot to the place."

The pub has become a social hub, with a football team as well as darts and dominoes leagues, and also puts on a good pint, with Marston's classics such as Wainwrights, Banks's Amber and Wychwood Hobgoblin always on the hand pulls.

Ms Owen said the pub also provided a good selection of beers, ciders and spirits, as well as a guest ale, which was based on requests by the locals.

She said: "We'll ask customers what they fancy next, which might be Sunbeam or Hobgoblin and we have become known for a good pint as we'll make sure the pints are cleaned regularly to ensure the pints are good.

"We also have Carling and Carlsberg, with deals between Monday and Tuesday that make them cheaper, plus Madri and Birra Moretti as premium lagers, while we have Strongbow and Strongbow Dark Fruits for ciders and Old Mout cider in bottles in the fridge.

"Spirits-wise, we have a wide selection of gins and flavoured gins, quite a big selection of whiskies, plus stuff like Tia Maria and a lot of rums and vodkas and the makings of cocktails if people want those."

The drink deals see a pint of Banks's Amber as low as £2.70 on Tuesdays for Ale night, while the average price at other times is £4.20, whereas Carling and Carlsberg are £3 a pint from Monday to Thursday and £3.60 at other times, and a deal on Birra Moretti of two for £7 on Fridays and other deals see a large bottle of Prosecco on Fridays for £13.49 and a gin and tonic for £5.

It has become a way of life for Julie Owen and her husband and she said the pub was a place that made a conscious effort to be part of community life and was home for her.

She said: "This pub means being a part of the community and being at the heart of it and we do something for everyone, like karaoke, entertainment and Sky Sports.

"It's just about being there for everyone and everyone knows that they can come in here for a decent pint and a decent chat and they will get served by the landlord or landlady, as we do it all ourselves - and we love what we do."