IT SOUNDS like most men's dream: a home in the country with idyllic views of the dales, your own brewery in the garden and your own pub just around the corner. And for one man, the dream has become a reality.

Mr Fred Bristow, who runs the Swaled Ale brewery from a small outhouse at his home in Gunnerside, near Reeth, recently took over the King's Head in the village, becoming probably the smallest brewery to operate a tied house.

Mr Bristow, aged 59, is from Hertfordshire. He and his wife, Chris, moved to Gunnerside 22 years ago. After working on Teesside and spending 15 years lecturing in electronics at the Royal School of Signals, he took early retirement a few years ago and spent much of his time indulging in his hobbies of fishing and brewing.

"I actually registered as a brewer in 1995," he said. "I had brewed beer for most of my life as a hobby, and at one of our regular parties at home I jokingly told the landlord of the pub what I thought of his beer. He said 'OK, your beer is nice, you brew it and I'll sell it.' That's how I got started."

Mr Bristow brews three main regular beers, Old Gang Bitter, Surrender Ale and Priscilla Pale, all named after the old lead mines in the surrounding area. Old Gang has already won two awards at the Darlington beer festival.

The next stage was to take over the King's Head six weeks ago. Mr Bristow explained: "The brewing was only part-time and I felt I was too young to completely retire, so when the lease for the pub came up I thought I would try to do something silly for the last part of my life.

"So far it seems to be on track and going fine. We have a hard core of regulars in the village and get a lot of passing trade from walkers and other visitors to the dales. Last week we were taken over by a BBC camera crew who were filming in the area."

Despite his success in the brewing field, Mr Bristow says he has no intention of expanding Swaled Ale. "It would not be practical at our location," he said. "It's hard enough keeping up with demand in the summer as it is."