Landlord of The Bridge Inn, which was badly hit by flash floods thanks the community and NYCC for its support as it re-opens

The landlord of a flood-hit pub in Swaledale has thanked the community and council for helping him re-open.

The Bridge Inn at Grinton has suffered three rounds of flooding over the past year with the devastating flash floods in the upper Dales last summer causing Cogden bridge behind the pub to collapse.

The loss of the bridge cut the pub off stopping footfall and severely impacting on the footfall landlord Andrew Atkin would normally see.

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“I’d been watching the rain and then I saw a few stones fall out, then suddenly the bridge had collapsed,” Mr Atkin said.

The pub was hit by flash floods last summer and two smaller floods but has re-openedThe pub was hit by flash floods last summer and two smaller floods but has re-opened
The pub was hit by flash floods last summer and two smaller floods but has re-opened

“It was quite biblical really, I put some towels at the door in the bottom bar but the flooding burst through the wall, clearly the towels weren’t going to stop it happening. Water was rushing past the front door.”

The community banded together the following morning to clear the stones from the road outside.

“That was quite a positive thing to see,” he said. “People out working together. There were people out there who hadn’t spoken in months or years all working together.

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North Yorkshire County Council were fantastic too, they dug out the back and they were also using the car park to put materials on, but had information centres on the car park which meant people could get updates on exactly what was going on. That meant a lot to me and the community, it was just very helpful at a time when we needed it.”

Andrew was the first person to drive over the repaired bridge, something which meant a lot to him as it meant customers were able to visit once again.

But as the pub was getting back on its feet, it was hit by two smaller floods in February and March this year which Andrew said could have been devastating if North Yorkshire County Council hadn’t taken action when it did.

“North Yorkshire County Council dug the gill out again just before the third flood and I think if they hadn’t the flood would have gutted the whole pub that time.”

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It did mean some of the repair work done on the pub was undone, and work was due to start in diverting the stream away from the pub and the pub cellar but was delayed due to corona- virus.

But Andrew remains positive. “You can’t dwell on these things happening, you have to stay positive and move on.

“With three floods, when Covid-19 hit I felt quite experienced in dealing with crises. The pub is open again now, we have social distancing and safety measures in place but business is slowly starting to pick up.

Work on the pub and car park, which was delayed, is scheduled to start in a couple of weeks too so I think my luck is turning.”

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Thank you

James Mitchinson