Pub is tops for paw & a pint
Pub’s joy at winning top national award
Winning national awards is great – even better when your pub has been open for less than a year.
And that’s exactly what has happened to Sara Sutherland and her partner Greg Thomson who run the Failford Inn when they entered the Dog Friendly Pub Awards.
They pipped fellow Ayrshire pub – the Sorn Inn – to the pooch friendly prize in spectacular fashion.
We told last month how the Sorn Inn were cruising ahead of the next closest challenger, West on the Green in Glasgow. But the Failford Inn submitted an incredible 11th hour bid to take the crown from Sorn.
And landlady Sara was delighted.
She said: “I genuinely never thought it would happen, I am over the moon.
“I checked my emails when it came in and I just thought ‘ oh my god we have actually won’ I couldn’t believe it.
“I am still in shock to be honest – I am so proud of what we have done with the pub.
“I feel like a local celebrity with the amount of messages I am getting – my phone won’t stop going off. The amount of people coming in thanks to the article in the Ayrshire Post has been incredible.
“But the fact we were in the top two with the Sorn Inn is just incredible – two wee Ayrshire pubs doing us proud!”
The public leaderboard closed a week before the awards were announced to create suspense.
When last checked, both the Sorn and Failford Inn were sailing close to the 1000 mark.
Sara added: “I think our pub really has a lot to offer.
“We have the gorgeous walks nearby, such as the Gorge Walk and the River Ayr Walk. You can walk to Stair and Auchincruive from our pub – although some of the walks even I wouldn’t take a dog!”
Sara remains adamant that despite the reputation of the Failford Inn changing hands a lot, they won’t be leaving anytime soon.
She said: “One thing’s for sure, we are here to stay.
“I guess you can never know what’s next, but we have started a lot of work on the pub.
“We are in the process of getting a new kids area and some new decking.
“I just wish the rain would stay off so we could get some proper work on the decking.”