Win for historic pub ‘feels like an award for everyone’
ROYAL OAK AT HAIL WESTON IS CROWNED COUNTY’S BEST
A MUCH-LOVED village pub is celebrating after being crowned the best pub in Cambridgeshire.
The Royal Oak, in Hail Weston, picked up the honour at the National Pub and Bar Awards 2024.
The venue, which dates back more than 200 years, is the last remaining pub in the village and is popular among locals.
It originally served as a place for auctions, inquests and a rent collection spot for the Lord of Hail Weston.
The Royal Oak is one of 94 pubs to be named the best in their county, with each place now competing for regional titles.
The regional winners will then move on to the shortlist to be named the National Pub and Bar of the Year.
Its menu consists of a variety of classic pub dishes, homemade pizzas and special afternoon meals.
It also provides a wealth of entertainment and events for customers to enjoy, including a Sunday pub quiz, Fish and Chip Saturday, Thursday Darts and Vinyl Night on Wednesday.
The pub is also a hotspot for walkers, with a selection of nearby routes that start and finish at the venue.
These take people across the fields. through the Duloe Loop and Midloe Grange, taking between 40 minutes and two hours to complete.
Dawn Isaac, manager of The Royal Oak, said: “I’m absolutely chuffed to bits with the award – especially as we’re a pub that was shut for five long, and very dry, years from 2012.
“We only re-opened because the local community pulled together and helped buy and refurbish our village pub so this feels like an award for everyone.
“A local village pub like ours needs to be everything to everybody; a community hub, a place to entertain friends, dog-friendly, family-friendly, somewhere to go for a great night out or just relax with a quiet drink over lunch.
“Getting all that right requires an awful lot of hard work so I’m delighted that this award has recognised the efforts made by the whole team to make The Royal Oak such a special place to visit.”
The awards are held every year, with venues judged on their work across areas including training, team welfare, sustainability, food, drink and marketing.
The grand final will take place in London on June 26 – when an overall national winner will be named. Tristan O’Hana, editor of Pub and Bar magazine, which runs the event, added: “The fact that we had record entries for the 2024 National Pub & Bar Awards tells us two things. One is how highly the industry regards these accolades, which is fantastic, but, also, it shows that more operators are in need of really positive and strong publicity to help drive business at the moment.
“Pubs and bars are facing some of the biggest challenges in recent history, so if the National Pub & Bar Awards can help by lifting sales across these venues, then we’re delighted to play our part.”
For the full list of winners, go to: nationalpubandbarawards.co.uk/
I’m delighted that this award has recognised the efforts made by the whole team...
Dawn Isaac