BEELEY: Pub celebrates top title win

Staff at the Devonshire Arms in Beeley are celebrating after the village hub was named Derbyshire Dining Pub of the Year.

It earned the accolade in the 2014 Good Pub Guide, a national institution which identifies the country’s premier watering holes.

Eagle-eyed readers and an inspection editor hailed the pub’s ‘local beers, good wine list and interesting and carefully sourced food’ as well as its ‘lovely’ interior.

Oliver Fry, manager of the Devonshire Arms, said: “It’s a great morale booster to win an award like this.

“I think we won it because we serve nice, quality food in great surroundings with amazing staff.”

Fiona Stapley, joint editor of the Good Pub Guide, said: “Good food is virtually essential in pubs – and this covers anything from a really good, hearty lunchtime soup right through to first-class dishes for special celebratory occasions. A great many customers prefer to eat in a pub rather than a restaurant because it’s so much more informal and with a working bar there’s usually a cheerful, chatty atmosphere.”

The 2014 Good Pub Guide is published today and costs £15.99. For more information about the Devonshire Arms, log on to www.devonshirebeeley.co.uk.