Village pub get same owners as The Fleece Northallerton

Adrian Orford and business partner Ruth Blundell took over The Fleece in Northallerton in 2022 - and have turned it from strength to strength over the years, setting up Ivy Pub Group as its portfolio company.

On TripAdvisor and Google, The Fleece has a four out of five-star review, and consistently has 'excellent' reviews left on their social media page. 

The Castle Arms Inn (Image: CASTLE ARMS)

And, now, the owners hope to find that same success after taking over at The Castle Arms Inn at Snape, near Bedale, just before Christmas last year. 

Having made several changes at the venue, including overhauling the menu, offering pub quizzes, and handing the pub management to Adrian's daughter Tia Dyett, Mr Orford now hopes to further develop The Castle Arms Inn. 

He said: "As soon as the pub in Snape came up as available, we jumped at the chance, it's a stunning building, and one we've always been interested in taking on. 

Inside The Castle Arms Inn (Image: CASTLE ARMS)

"It's a classic pub with a vintage feeling."

As well as having the pub and the food, which has been overhauled by a former chef at The Black Sheep Brewery in Masham, The Castle Arms Inn is a hotel with nine rooms - and it's expected that, in total, it will have £150,000 paid for renovations at the venue.

 Mr Orford added: "The main issue we had when we took over at The Castle Arms was to try and win back the locals that had gone to other village pubs. 

The outside area at The Castle Arms Inn (Image: CASTLE ARMS INN)

"We started with pub quizzes and more community events and brought them back slowly but surely.

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"Even the small touches, like bringing in a cosy pub fire and making touches to make it feel quaint.

"We feel we have the best of both worlds, we have The Fleece as a busy town pub with plenty of footfall, and a cosier village pub that has a nice country feel."

Moving forward, Mr Orford said that he and his business partner Ruth have bought a horse trailer with a view of converting it into a pizza and food van, which they hope to start serving from soon.