Blue Ship

19/06/2026

Another reminder for the weekend that we are closed until 26/06
For table bookings / camping enquiries please email us [email protected]
We look forward to welcoming everyone back next wknd 😎

12/06/2026

A reminder for the weekend that we are closed until 26/06
For table reservations / camping enquiries after this date please email us [email protected]
We look forward to welcoming everyone in a few weeks.

11/06/2026

Is she actually joking...how does the woman still actually have a job?!?!?!
https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2026/06/11/reeves-urges-hospitality-to-back-growth-push-as-vat-pressure-mounts/?fbclid=IwdGRleASXnApleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEegFwtHIogs-Y-aDv7nYPf89nFeCTBG6NY_-6IjvEjDp3eQ7dTotMiO6Gh34E_aem_wmMUBv9VbljOSwLl2VI_KA

Chancellor Rachel Reeves calls on hospitality to help drive economic confidence, citing rates relief and summer measures, as industry ramps up calls for a VAT cut.

10/06/2026

James May has sparked debate by suggesting that pub closures are primarily a quality issue, arguing that “the good pubs survive and the bad ones fade away.”

To a degree, he’s right. Great pubs don’t happen by accident. Good service, clean facilities, quality drinks, a welcoming atmosphere and adapting to changing customer expectations are all essential ingredients for success.

But where we part company is the suggestion that quality is the main issue facing the industry.

Across the UK, there are thousands of well-run, popular pubs delivering excellent customer experiences every day, yet many are still struggling to remain profitable.

The reality is that even the best operators are battling soaring employment costs, rising National Insurance contributions, energy prices, food inflation, business rates, beer duty and VAT. Industry leaders have repeatedly warned that these pressures mean even busy, successful pubs are finding it increasingly difficult to make the numbers stack up.

A perfect example of the pressures facing hospitality is Jeremy Clarkson’s Farmers Dog pub. Despite massive publicity, nationwide interest and tables reportedly booked solid, Clarkson himself has openly admitted the business is still losing money. If a venue with that level of exposure and demand is struggling to turn a profit, it shows just how difficult the current climate is for pubs across the country.

This isn’t simply about whether a pub is “good” or “bad” anymore, it’s about whether the economics of running hospitality businesses in Britain are sustainable at all.

The Independent Pub Alliance believes quality and government policy are not mutually exclusive. Pubs should absolutely strive to be the best they can be. But we should not ignore the fact that excessive taxation and rising operating costs are placing unsustainable pressure on businesses that are otherwise thriving.

Good pubs can survive difficult conditions. Great pubs can even flourish. But no business should be expected to carry one of the highest tax burdens in Europe while facing relentless cost increases on every front.

If we want Britain’s pubs to remain at the heart of their communities for generations to come, we need both excellent operators and a fairer trading environment.

05/06/2026

A reminder that we are closed until Friday 26th June.
For table reservations / camping enquiries after this date please email us [email protected]
We look forward to welcoming everyone in a few weeks.

03/06/2026

The Independent Pub Alliance proudly supports the 'VAT's The Problem’ campaign spearheaded by Tom Kerridge and hospitality leaders across the UK.

For years, pubs, bars, restaurants and hospitality venues have warned that the current VAT burden is unsustainable. While costs continue to rise across the board, wages, energy, business rates, insurance and suppliers, hospitality businesses are still expected to hand over 20% VAT on food and drink sales in one of the toughest trading environments the industry has ever faced.

A reduction in hospitality VAT to 10% would not be a handout. It would be a lifeline.

It would allow struggling pubs and hospitality venues to:
• Keep prices fairer for customers
• Protect jobs
• Invest back into their businesses
• Improve wages and working conditions
• Reduce closures in communities across the country

The UK currently has one of the highest hospitality VAT rates in Europe, placing independent venues at a huge disadvantage compared with many neighbouring countries that already recognise hospitality as a vital economic and social sector worth protecting.

Pubs are more than businesses. They are community hubs, social spaces, employers, fundraisers and part of Britain’s cultural identity. Every pub closure represents lost jobs, lost investment and the loss of another community meeting place.

Supporting this campaign is about supporting the future of British hospitality.

The IPA may still be growing as an organisation, but remaining silent on an issue this important would serve nobody. We believe the industry must stand together, regardless of who is leading the conversation, and push for meaningful long-term support before more businesses disappear for good.

31/05/2026

We are now closed until Friday 26th June.
For table reservations / camping enquiries after this date please email us [email protected]
We look forward to welcoming everyone in a few weeks.

29/05/2026

WTAF 😱 You could not make this up could you...well done Rach! 😳

🤬 NICE PUB TAX?! 🤬

You actually couldn't make this up!

Just when you think the absolute clowns running the country have run out of ways to squeeze the hospitality industry dry, they invent a new one…🤡

Today’s massive headline: HMRC has issued new guidance to tax assessors for a brand new "Nice Pub Tax."

🤯 I am not joking!

🤯 That is literally what it is!

The geniuses at the Valuation Office Agency have been told that if your pub is actually nice - if you have a scenic view, a river frontage, a well-kept beer garden, a decent play area for the kids, or God forbid, you’ve put a bit of money into maintaining a historic "character property" - you’re getting slapped with even higher business rates!!! 🌄🦆🛝🏖️

Just think about the staggering “logic” of this for a second!

👉 As a publican, you work 90-hour weeks.

👉 You bleed yourself dry investing every spare penny into making your venue an attractive, welcoming place for the community.

👉 You fix the roof, you landscape the garden, you offer a premium menu so people actually want to eat your food.

And what is your reward from Rachel Reeves and her clipboard-wielding tax inspectors? 🧐

"Ooh, that’s a lovely beer garden you’ve got there, mate. Shame if someone were to absolutely tax the living daylights out of it."

🚨 They are literally penalizing success and taxing pride. 🚨

If you run a rundown, miserable concrete box with zero competition and a sticky carpet, congratulations - you’re fine. 👌

But if you try to give your customers something beautiful, you get a massive tax hike hidden under the guise of "modern revaluations" looking ahead to 2029. 📈🤬

We already lost the 40% retail and hospitality relief in April, my rates have already doubled, and now they’re actively hunting down destination country inns and gastropubs for more, because they have "too much appeal”!

What the actual f**k?!? 🤯

❌ It’s completely broken. They want us to survive on fresh air and good vibes, while they price the traditional British pub right out of existence.

🚨 THIS GOVERNMENT HAS LOST THE FU***NG PLOT!

🚨 RACHEL REEVES HAS OFFICIALLY DECLARED WAR ON HOSPITALITY!

I’m off to pour a pint and stare blankly at my beer garden before the council charges me a premium just for looking at the f**king bushes!

Tell me your thoughts below. Are you a publican facing a massive hike? Or a punter sick of watching your favourite local being bled dry? 👇

WE. NEED. TO. FIGHT. THIS. NOW!

27/05/2026

It was such a lovely weekend at the pub and the campsite...so it is extremely frustrating and disheartening for us when we go out in to the campsite yesterday evening after final guests have departed to find an absolute mess...
With rubbish left behind, glass bottles just on the ground (despite our no glass policy), our nice plastic water jugs from the pub taken out there without permission and just discarded and one broken. And a half full bottle of lamp oil despite us not allowing any kind of fuelled lamps, candles etc for very obvious safety reasons. Two toilet seats broken, toilet roll holder broken. Tent pegs left in the ground that would break our mower.
All more jobs for us to undertake / repair and costs to our small independent business 😟
Why do the minority choose to disregard our rules thinking they dont apply to them somehow and just ruin it for everyone else.
This is our home and our business, our dogs and our young son play on our land when we are closed during the week, i shouldn't be worried about glass and rubbish that people haven't had the decency to clear up.
This really makes us just want to close the gates on camping at times and just focus on the pub itself which would be such a shame.
If you are camping with us please have some consideration, be kind, and leave it as you find it, you wouldn't like it in your own garden or land.

26/05/2026

Weekend kitchen / waitering staff wanted to join our young weekend summer team.
Experience not essential but must be keen, willing to learn and enthusiastic with good people skills. Minimum age 15. To start at the end of June, must be available for the summer months.
Please email Sophie [email protected]