We were all relieved when Ben and Clare rode in again to save a Barrow pub. They’d done it so successfully with the Hunting Lodge and now the Soar Bridge Inn has re-opened after only a short time of closure. As I left Barrow for my holidays at the end of July, the scaffolding was just coming down from a deep-seated redecoration of the outside, including a splendid new sign. The inside, very stylish, refurbishment had already been completed. So, the Soar Bridge is all set for a new lease of life.

I called in to have a chat with Ben. He has four pubs to run and I felt privileged to grab 30 minutes of his time. That’s the White Hart and the Apple Tree in Quorn as well as the Hunting Lodge and now the Soar Bridge in Barrow. Like the Apple Tree and the Hunting Lodge, the Soar Bridge has a live-in manager, Laura (Flo) and her family – including her daughter Chloe. Kelly and Elouise continue to work there from several years ago.

Ben ran me through the new developments they have already achieved or have planned (his Stage 1), including a newly slabbed area in the play park; the redevelopment of the function room with its own bar and cellar; and the reinstatement of the Pétanque Pisté. Stage 2 will involve the opening of the kitchen in August but he has already established the very popular Greedy Grillerz pop-up in the car park every other Friday evening. Meals will be served in the restaurant during the week but in the function room, as a carvery, for Sunday lunchtimes. The main menu will aim at pub classics and street food but will include regular pie nights and fish-and-chip suppers.

Stage 3 will see Ben get a wide range of activities and events up-and-running; some new, some old. They begin shortly with the return of a pétanque league. A darts team will be re-established in the winter. Quiz nights will start up again on Thursday evenings. An Open Mic night will be scheduled for the 1st Monday of each month and Cash Bingo on Sunday evenings. And, of course, there will be plenty of opportunities for sports fans to watch fixtures on Sky TV.

Perhaps the biggest change will be to the function room which will be stunning. They plan to make it a venue for all sorts of exciting events and activities throughout the week, including opportunities for private hire.

Watch this space!

Barrow Voice team wishes Ben, Clare & Flo every success with this new acquisition to their empire!

Judith Rodgers