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New era for abandoned Dales pub
Greg Wright Deputy Business Editor THEIR first project was a wind-swept watering hole for marksmen, film stars and quoits lovers.
Now Charles and Stacy Cody are bringing another Yorkshire Dales pub back to life.
A decade after buying and renovating their first disused inn – the Charles Bathurst (CB) in Arkengarthdale – Mr and Mrs Cody have invested 320,000 in a second pub where time seemed to have been called forever.
They have bought The Punch Bowl Inn, in Low Row, Swaledale, which has been empty for three years. The renovated pub and hotel will initially employ 12 staff when it is fully operational in the New Year.
A further 250,000 will be invested in the 17th-century listed building over the next three months as the Codys develop it into a pub and 60-seat restaurant, with 11 bedrooms.
Mr Cody said: "The Punch Bowl is an ideal second venture for us. Purchasing The Punch Bowl will not only offer us the opportunity to accommodate more customers but it will also help fill a gap that was left in the local community when it closed its doors a few years ago."
The couple anticipate that The Punch Bowl will be up and running by the end of the year, and taking overnight bookings from early 2007.
The couple bought the pub from the estate of an anonymous private investor. It was last used as a pub in the late 1990s. It briefly became a hostel and walking centre, but had been empty since 2003.
According to legend, it takes its name from a small dog called Punch that once sat in a bowl in the corner of the pub.
Mr and Mrs Cody hope it will match the success of the Charles Bathurst – or CB – which has welcomed travellers for 300 years. It was voted Inn of the Year by the 2006 Good Pub Guide.
After buying the derelict CB 10 years ago, the couple used local craftsmen to renovate the pub and its 18 bedrooms. They have spent 200,000 on functions rooms and a new kitchen. It employs 35 staff and turnover last year rose 15 per cent to 790,000.
The pub is probably best known for its use as a location in the filming of the James Herriot stories in the BBC series, All Creatures Great and Small. It's a popular haunt for guests to the region's seasonal grouse shoots. During the grouse season, aristocrats and the odd film star can be seen propping up the bar.
The CB has another unusual claim to fame. The garden is home to one of the few championship standard quoits pitches in Britain. It even hosted the Wilkinson Sword World Quoits Championships in 2002.
greg.wright@ypn.co.uk
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