Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Daisy Jackson

Social distancing could have killed this north west pub - until it found a novel solution

A country pub in the north west has found a brilliant way to safely serve customers - by moving its tables into miniature greenhouses in the gardens.

The Harrington Arms in Gawsworth, near Macclesfield, has decorated each greenhouse with a different theme, as well as erecting a large festival-style stretch tent.

It's allowed the pub to welcome a viable number of customers, after social distancing measures reduced its indoor capacity to only three tables.

The old farmhouse building, first constructed in 1664, is Grade-II listed and a CAMRA Heritage site.

The pub was left with only three tables inside (Facebook - The Harrington Arms Gawsworth)

While packed with cosy charm, its owners have found its layout to be challenging in the post-lockdown era.

The pub's customer spaces are split between four small rooms - there are normally 11 tables inside plus standing room at the bar, but landlady Caroline Wightman said she would only safely be able to use three tables now.

With her business partner Andy, the Robinsons pub has transformed its beer garden into an all-weather dining room.

The pretty greenhouses that have appeared in the grounds have been decorated with plants, fairy lights and even wallpaper to create new dining spaces for customers.

The potting shed themed greenhouse (Facebook - The Harrington Arms Gawsworth)

The five glass buildings are themed on a potting shed, a beach hut, a vintage lounge, a Moroccan riad, and a botanical garden.

Caroline, who took over the running of the pub in 2006, added: "It's proved to be incredibly popular. The phone's not stopped ringing, Facebook messages haven't stopped - it's been a tremendous response!

"It's funny what a crisis makes you do. Not in a million years would we have done something like this otherwise.

"The last few months have been stressful at best. Obviously we've never experienced anything like this before.

"We spent weeks getting ready to reopen, obviously not even knowing when that was going to be. There's only so much we could do without knowing what the rules and regulations were going to be.

"Social distancing gave us quite a lot of problems inside, but we're very lucky to have a fabulous outside space."

You can book a table at the Harrington Arms through their website or follow them on Facebook.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.