One of Dartmoor’s most famous old pubs is reopening after battling back from the Covid lockdowns and a devastating flood.
The Prince of Wales, in Princetown, the second highest pub in the 海角视频, was flooded out when a freak rainstorm hit the moorland town in August 2020.
It deluged the pub completely flooding the cellar to the extent that empty beer barrels were floating up into the bar above.
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The whole ground floor of the 19th Century building was under six inches of water and resulted in major damage, with carpets and the entire bar and kitchen having to be replaced.
The owners, Plymouth businessmen Jan Hayes and John Burbage, have had to spend a significant amount of money, between £100,000 and £200,000, to revamp the pub and are now looking to reopen for indoor dining and drinking, after creating an outside bar for al fresco hospitality following the April 12 easing of restrictions.
Mr Hayes said the business has also had to deal with being closed during three national Covid lockdowns, reopening for indoor trade on May 17, 2021.
But it was the flood which hit it badly, coming just as the business reopened for summer trade during the 2020 Summer easing of restrictions.
“We had just got it up to scratch, last August, and we had the strange weather phenomenon,” said Mr Hayes. “It started raining, but I have never seen rain like it, the cellar was full of water and then the pub started to fill up. No part of the downstairs was unaffected. We had to take the floors and bar out and start again. We lost the kitchen as well.”
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Mr Hayes said the pub managed to continue trading by using a mobile bar, converted from a “burger van”, outside, but only until the next lockdown came in November. It was then too cold to open al fresco during the brief unlock in December, meaning the pub was closed all winter.
But the owners used the time to invest “a lot of money” in the building, creating a new bar, new kitchens, and an outside bar at the adjoining 21-bed, purpose-built bunkhouse, aimed at hikers, cyclists, canoeists and other thrill-seekers.
“That outside bar got us through restricted opening,” said Mr Hayes. “We have a beer garden and can get about 60 people outside, a decent amount.”
Mr Hayes and Mr Burbage , and set about on a complete refurbishment with new menus and daily specials.
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The pub, described as a “traditional moorland village inn”, is thought to date from about 1860. Just a few yards from the world-famous Dartmoor Prison, the freehouse pub has become one of the most visited tourist destinations in Devon, being particularly popular with coach tours and is a stop-off point for moor explorers wanting lunches and refreshments. The bunkhouse, built in 2011, has a communal lounge and kitchen. The pub also has a private car park with 14 spaces and a small patio seating area.
My Hayes said he is now anxious to see whether Covid will have affected consumer behaviour and said: “Every business has been affected. But the biggest thing will be the change in people’s attitudes, they have got used to not going out.
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“That will be the hardest part for every hospitality business, the confidence to go to the pub. But in our first week open (after April 12) we had excellent trade.
“Locals are about and others want to go to the moors for fresh air and stop for a bite to eat. So the bounce back has been good, but we expected that. It will be a few weeks before we know more.
“It looks like June 21 will be when we can really open up and become a traditional pub again. And we are renovating five B&B rooms for when people can stay here.”