Different rules on each side of border
LLANYMYNECH, England — In normal times, no one takes much notice of the invisible border between England and Wales that runs through Llanymynech, a village with a post office, a church and no fewer than three pubs.
But the Anglo-Welsh frontier, fought over in earlier centuries, has once again become a contested front line, this time for British drinkers.
England allowed restaurants, cafes and bars to reopen Saturday, meaning two pubs in Llanymynech could serve customers again after more than 100 days of coronavirus lockdown.
Less than 100 yards away, on the Welsh side of the village, the Dolphin Inn remained firmly shuttered, in line with Welsh government rules delaying pub openings until July 13 — and then allowing drinking only in gardens or other outdoor spaces.
The ruling has thrust the village into the media spotlight, reminding residents of the existence of an administrative border — more like a state line than an international frontier with passport checkpoints — that scythes through their village, even cutting through one building, and then snakes away through the surrounding countryside.
It has forced John Turner, landlord of the closed Dolphin Inn, to consider his future and whether he might give up the pub trade. But Saturday it did not stop him from having a drink at the rival Bradford Arms — in England — where he struck a philosophical tone over a pint of beer.
“It is ridiculous,” Turner, who is English, said of the restrictions, “but there’s got to be a border at some point; it just so happens we are on it.”
This is not the first time Llanymynech’s pubs have been at the sharp end of the Anglo-Welsh divide. In the spring of 2006, Wales banned smoking indoors in bars, a measure that was not introduced in England until the summer of 2007, drawing many smokers to the two English pubs for the interim.
Down the street from the Bradford Arms lies a nowdefunct hotel bisected by the official Anglo-Welsh border. In a previous era, one of its two bars was closed each Sunday, when by law pubs in England could open, but those in Wales could not.
The rules are different this time because the Welsh government in Cardiff has power over issues like health, education and public administration. Like Scotland, Wales has generally taken a more cautious approach to coronavirus controls than England has.
Wales plans to reopen the hospitality trade more slowly, partly in light of criticism from some scientists that England is taking an unnecessary risk by opening pubs, restaurants and many other businesses at the same time — and on a Saturday, when people tend to drink more. Public health experts say that outdoor venues pose less of a risk for spreading the virus, which is why drinkers in Welsh pubs will have to gather in beer gardens or parking lots when the rules are relaxed, at least initially.
“Normally, you don’t think about the border, but it has caused headaches because Wales has made different decisions,” Ruth Allcock, a retired fitness trainer from the nearby village of Pant, England, said as she headed to the Bradford Arms with her husband.
But at the post office and village store, on the Welsh side of the village, Jennifer Bridger said she and her husband would not go out for a drink until they could complete “the triangle” — visiting all three local pubs.
“We can’t have a favorite,” said Bridger, adding that although the post office is less than 100 yards from the border, she had been to England only once during the lockdown.