Here’s to another year. Cheers.
A 17th century pub on Leighton Buzzard High Street, and the festivals, the Barn and the awards that came with it.
Nikki and Stev signed on the dotted line on the 9th Dec 2014, and after the refurbishment the pub finally opened on the 27th Jan 2015.
Nikki came from the famous Merchants Inn pub in Rugby and Stev was a plumber, very handy when it came to the cellar.
In the first year came the first Cider Festival and the first themed Beer Festival (Leighton-On-Sea). The year ended in spectacular style with our now famous 25ft+ Christmas tree.
And to top things off, we were awarded both South Bedfordshire and Bedfordshire County CAMRA Pub of the Year 2015. We also discovered a charity, KIDS OUT, on our doorstep and have been helping out and raising money ever since.
Our first Dark Beer Festival, along with both Cider and Beer Festivals. We transformed our garden into a haven for bees and butterflies, and invested in a covered area and more seating.
We even made it into the Sunday Telegraph and Anglian News for our Christmas tree, and finished the year with a barn that was no longer a storage space but a speakeasy bar.
A very busy year: the Dark versus Light Beer Festival, the Cider Festival and our first Gin Festival. On the back of its success, the Barn was turned into a full-time Gin Palace.
Then came the summer Beer Festival (Leighton at War) and Oktoberfest complete with oompah band. For a third year running we were awarded both South Beds and Beds County CAMRA Pub of the Year.
2018 could not have started better, having been awarded South Beds CAMRA Pub of the Year.
South Beds Pub of the Year 2020, on the cover of Beer in Bed(s), the magazine of the South Bedfordshire branch of CAMRA.
