Three Welsh pub visits for royals
Pub is The Hub has seen three Royal visits to pub diversification projects in Wales last week, as part of Wales Week.
On Tuesday, Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited The Raven Inn, a community owned and run pub in Llanarmon-yn-lal near Ruthin in Denbighshire. There the community had not only taken over the pub five years ago (which is now thriving with Welsh language lessons, a village choir and an annual pantomime) but they had also more recently set up a community shop and a community brewery - Cwrw Lal Community Brewery.
The Royal couple met all the groups involved and HRH pulled an eponymous pint of beer specially brewed for the occasion called The Prince of Wales with Cwrw Ial brewer, Doug McPherson offering a guiding hand.
Then on Wednesday, it was HRH The Duchess of Cornwall’s turn for a solo visit to The Royal Oak in Rhandir-mwyn near Landovery in Carmarthenshire where they have recently opened a farm shop in the pub.
There the owners, Chris Pollington and Rachel Byrne showed Camilla around and introduced her to their community groups and suppliers.
On Friday the Royal couple joined forces again for a visit to The Glan yr Afon Arms in Talgarreg near Landysul in Ceredigion. Owners Hefin and Megan Evans have run the pub since 1976 but it has been in Hefin’s family since 1954.
There they raise an astonishing amount of money for charity every year but also run a hairdressing salon in the pub and offer free wifi to customers. Again, the couple enjoyed pulling a commemorative pint behind the bar.
Chief Executive of Pub is The Hub, John Longden and the advisor for Wales, Malcolm Harrison, have been present at each one of the visits so have experienced the pace at which the Royal couple work.
John Longden commented: “We have been working on diversification projects with pubs in Wales for the last few years with the tremendous support of the Welsh Government and The Prince’s Countryside Fund. It was entirely fitting that Their Royal Highnesses should pop in and see the imaginative and enterprising approach adopted by these champions for rural services and their terrific community spirit. Their support this week has been the cherry on top of a fantastic series of projects in Wales.”
“On a personal note, it has been quite a week. We’ve hoovered carpets, put banners up and down and drunk quite a lot of tea. We’re incredibly grateful for the fantastic hospitality that each pub has provided – what a delightful and hard-working industry we work in!”
