The Salutation Inn, a rural freehouse in the small village of Ham, Gloucestershire, has won the Campaign for Real Ale’s (Camra) 2014 national pub of the year award – less than two years after its landlord pulled his first pint. .
Former business analyst Peter Tiley quit his job in London in 2013 to follow his love of beer to run The Sally – as it is known to the locals – with his wife Claire, despite having no practical experience of running a pub.
Eleven months later the pub won Camra’s local branch competition, then the whole region,before finally beating 50,000 other pubs in the UK to be named national pub of the year.
Judges, who included Camra volunteers, hailed the friendly atmosphere and simple characteristics of “the definitive country alehouse”. It offers customers five real ales, eight real ciders, traditional pub games such as skittles and an unfussy lunchtime menu that includes ham rolls, made from from the pub’s own pigs.
“I grew up in Gloucestershire and left when I was 18 to go to university,” said Tiley. “I then worked in London for eight years as an analyst in the telecommunications industry. I enjoyed it but knew it was not my passion. I really enjoyed good beer and I thought seriously about opening a microbrewery. But then my dad told me this place was available and I thought it was too good an opportunity to miss. Now I have to pinch myself every day. This is good fun and it doesn’t feel like work – although running a pub is very hard work.”
Pubs are judged and graded by Camra on a variety of criteria such as atmosphere, level of service, value for money and community focus, with extra weighting given to the quality of their real ale, cider and perry. The Salutation Inn was popular with judges due to its beer selection and welcoming, homely feel. One judge said: “What struck me most was the welcome. It was as if I was being invited into a private house as a friend.”
The pub is described in Camra’s Good Beer Guide 2015 as a “rural gem in the Severn Valley, within walking distance of the Jenner Museum, Berkeley Castle and Deer Park. The pub has two cosy bars with a log fire and a skittles alley. Live folk music and piano singalongs regularly occur. Shove-ha’penny and table skittles are played.”
Tiley said: “For the Sally to have won is beyond our wildest dreams. Pubs are so important to me that to have our own one recognised in this way is just amazing. We count ourselves so unbelievably lucky to have a brilliant team of staff who are so passionate and dedicated as well as a community of locals who have given so much to support and contribute towards the pub. .”
Camra director Abigail Newton said being crowned the overall pub of the year was a huge achievement for any landlord “but what Peter and Claire have done in the short time they have been running the pub is nothing short of staggering and goes to show that passion, enthusiasm, and a real love of beer are hugely important when running a pub. They have hit the ground running and taken what was already a great pub and made it truly exceptional.”
Tiley’s dream of a microbrewery at the pub will be fulfilled this year, while its neighbouring walled garden is to be stocked with chickens. Potatoes will also be sown so that the menu can boast 100% home-produced ham, egg and chips.
The three other finalists in the awards were The Freshfield in Formby (Merseyside), The Harewood Arms in Broadbottom (Greater Manchester) and The Windmill in Sevenoaks Weald (Kent).
