If there’s one thing people in the UK go wild for, it’s pubs. There was the hunt for someone to become the ‘monarch’ of Piel Island, which basically just meant being the pub landlord. There was the controversy over the oldest pub in the country nearly closing down. And now, a community has banded together to save the country’s most remote pub, The Old Forge.
The beloved boozer is accessible only by boat, unless you fancy the intense two-day hike. It’s in Inverie, on the Knoydart peninsula in Scotland – which has a population of just 100 – but it really is the beating heart of the village, and tourists love it, too.
So when the owners put the place up for sale, a lot of people were pretty upset. Now, the Old Forge Community Benefit Society has banded together and raised £320,000 to buy it. That, combined with additional funding from the Scottish Land Fund and Community Ownership Fund, means it’s reopening at Easter. And profits won’t go to shareholders – they’ll be reinvested in the business and community projects. Nice.
People in Knoydart have a history of saving important sites. In 1999, they secured 17,500 acres of the Knoydart Estate, which was one of the first community buyouts in Scotland. The wild, rugged landscape has remained untouched ever since.
The Old Forge is set to open its doors again on April 17. Fancy making the trip out? It’s quite the schlep, but boy will it feel worth it once that pint is in your hand.
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