Sunday roast returns to district’s village pubs

Yesterday saw the return of a much-loved Sunday roast as pub owners across the district welcomed back familiar faces.

Despite only serving half the number of customers they usually would, village pubs tried to make the experience “as normal as possible.”

The Ship Inn in Aldborough served fifty Sunday lunches compared with its usual one hundred before lockdown. Brian Rey, chef and license holder for the pub told The Stray Ferret:

“We’ve tried to make the place just as it was without people realising the changes we’ve made.”

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Customers enjoyed tucking into their roast beef and Yorkshire puddings. Jean and Malcolm Rawlinson, who travelled all the way from Lancaster for their lunch said:

“We couldn’t wait to come back here. We have travelled sixty-three miles to get here, we come every Sunday because the food is fabulous.”

Man eating roast

Malcolm enjoyed tucking into his long awaited roast.

Despite seeing lots of drinkers in the beer garden, The Royal Oak in Staveley saw a significant decrease in the number of lunches served. Landlady Catherine Audsley said:

“I think a lot of people are still nervous to come out. We just need people to be comfortable and confident to come out now, because if they don’t the country pub won’t survive.”

Catherine Audsley outside The Royal Oak in Staveley.

However, locals Stephen and Lesley Smith said they were happy to be out . Lesley said:

“We have waited a long time for this. I would normally be at home cooking the roast but we thought we would come out and enjoy a roast instead.”

Overall the opening of pubs, bars and restaurants across the district appears to have gone well, with the police noting no major incidents across the weekend.