5. “Delight” at being named Derbyshire’s best pub
Colette said: “I’m delighted that Will Hawkes has picked us. There’s a lot of good pubs around, but there’s not that many family-run free houses now. This is a complete free house, we have teenagers from the village and nieces and nephews work for us. It’s a family-run business and I think people really like that. We do Strongman contests in May, and we have two beer festivals where we have local bands on between 1.00pm and 10.00pm. We also have hen racing and film nights. We work hard to get people to come. You wouldn’t accidentally walk past it, you come in here because you’ve heard about it or seen it somewhere. It’s always nice to get these awards, but keeping it going for 16 years and having people that keep coming back is the reward.” Photo: UGC
6. Love for the pub
Colette added: “I think we’re fairly well-supported. We have non-local regulars, who might live in Chesterfield, Belper, Sheffield or Derby but still come regularly. We get the business from tourists, which is a really important part of the pub economy in Derbyshire especially. We’ve got a good reputation, and I'm proud of that, but we work hard for it. I love the pub. It’s a quintessential little English boozer.” Photo: UGC