AN incredible gin bar in County Durham has been born out of lockdown - and it's made from salvaged holiday jets from across the world.
The brainchild of friends Colin Scott and Wayne Richardson, The Aviator Gin Bar on Northfield Way in Newton Aycliffe features fixtures and fittings from Boeing and Airbus airliners.
Mr Scott, a retired GP and Mr Richardson, a pilot and electrician, opened the bar just several weeks ago after founding The Herbal Gin Company in 2019.
The Northern Echo had a look round the quirky venue and spoke to the friends to find out more about it.
Take a look for yourself below:
The Aviator Gin Bar officially landed on July 4 and features seats from airliners including a Boeing 737 and Airbus A340 Pictures: NORTHERN ECHO
The bar was created in the same building as The Herbal Gin Company, where the two friends distill dozens of flavours of gin
The idea for the bar came after Mr Scott and Mr Richardson completed a distiller course in 2018
They started off with The Herbal Gin Company before venturing out and creating the bar, which currently has space for up to 81 people
But due to current restrictions in County Durham, the bar is offering customers an in-flight table-service only
They say the bar has become popular with customers far and wide for being quirky and different
Amazingly the bar is actually made from a former Jet2 Boeing 737 and behind the bar, bottles are stored on the former galley from an Airbus A340
Hidden away is the distillery itself, named Margaret - it can produce 4,000 bottles of gin per week!
It's here where the pair create, bottle and label their gins, which are shipped across the UK on-demand
They are hoping to launch a gin tasting experience in coming weeks, with visitors able to create their own flavours Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT
They are hoping to expand the gin bar even further with a first floor are among ambitious plans too
Mr Scott told The Northern Echo how the bar has become a destination for people in Newton Aycliffe and beyond.
He said: "It's in a great location, we have 30,000 people in Newton Aycliffe on our doorstep.
"We have people come from all over including Darlington, and we have lots of people in Aycliffe say it's great to have this in the town."
Mr Richardson added the pair were hoping to expand the bar with bold plans to create a first-class lounge out of a salvaged airliner, and even encase the bar in its own hot air baloon.
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