Barbara Lewthwaite, Landlord of The Hollybush Inn – Hay on Wye, Powys, is something of an local eccentric, in a vision from God she was told to run a community. It made some sense then – that Barbara move to a small idyllic town such as Hay on Wye and take over a pub, surely the cornerstone of any community spirit.

Barbara recently appeared on the Hotel Inspector, Channel 5’s observational hotelier documentary. Issues with staff turn over at The Hollybush Inn led Barbara to seek help from the shows over qualified presenter Alex Polizzi, and The Hollybush Inn has been reborn. And it’s something of a phoenix pub if first accounts are anything to go by (source Wyelocal.com). Barbara has put a lot of effort into the new ‘community spirited’ Hollybush Inn,… although with such dramatic changes in such a short space of time one does wonder if after a few months it will look like the Hotel Inspector had ever been there, but only time will tell.

Barbara recently also appeared on local BBC news, she loves the river Wye (Afon Gwy), the fifth longest river in the UK – it forms part of a natural border between England and Wales, virtually unpolluted it’s one of the best salmon fishing spots in the country.  And it’s her love of the beautiful river Wye that has made Barbara want to swim the length of it, from the source in the Welsh mountains at Plynlimon to its mouth near Beachley, Gloucestershire for the BBCs Big Splash – an inspiring scheme to get UK residents swimming on a regular basis. In some places the river Wye is too shallow or too treacherous for swimming, but Barbara vows to swim as much of it as she can for charity. The river is 215 km long, that’s about 134 miles, it’s not going to be an easy feat for Barbara to pull off. But with a personality as big as Barbara’s, and God on her side, we’ve every hope that she will succeed.

If you’d like to show your support for Barbara you can add a comment to our blog, write a good will message on BITEs The Hollybush Inn pub page, or join in the conversation on our Facebook page. Cheers!

Today’s blog post image was supplied by Flickr user and real ale fanatic “Everything That Happens“.

This Sunday (29th May) is Royal Oak Day, in our blog post Top 10 Pub Names in the UK we mentioned that the Royal Oak is one of the UK’s most popular pub names, so here’s a very short story on how those Royal Oak pubs got their name.

After a defeat by Cromwell’s New Model Army at the Battle of Worcester on 3rd September 1651, King Charles II had a bounty on his head for the princely (kingly?) sum of £1000. During his escape to France Charles sought refuge at Boscobel House. With the assistance of William Pendrell the house caretaker, Charles spent a day alongside fellow Royalist Colonel William Carlis hiding in an oak tree on Boscobel House grounds.

After Oliver Cromwells death in 1658, England fell into political confusion, it wasn’t until 1660, Charles returning from exile in France entered into London on his birthday 29th May leading to the Restoration of the monarchy, and the restore of order.  Parliament declared the 29th May ‘Royal Oak Day’ to be a day of thanks giving in honour of the kings return.

The holiday was formally abolished in 1859, but it’s legacy still continues today on our coinage (some £1 coins) and of course, in one of our most popular pub names, The Royal Oak.  So, if you are near to a Royal Oak pub this bank holiday weekend get on down there and order a pint and bask in our great nations history.

If you’re off down the Royal Oak, let everyone know in our comments section below, or by joining the discussion on our Facebook page.