In her last column, author Miriam Wakerly heads for the heights of Coldharbour to visit a pub that’s at the heart of its community
BECKY Hopper was a fulltime mum and husband John worked in London, but in 2015 an opportunity took them on an inspiring journey.
They took on The Plough Inn in Coldharbour, the highest village in Surrey. “With a baby and toddler, John and I hardly saw each other – just in passing!” says Becky. It closed for refurbishment – a huge project funded by the owner, Richard Eshelby, who sadly passed away in September 2017, but gave Becky and John free rein over décor. The stuff that dreams are made of.
Community spirit
Today they employ more than 40 staff from Coldharbour and surrounding villages. Assistant manager, Aoifa, has grown with it, enabling Becky and John to take the occasional holiday from a job which usually runs from 7.30am until 11.30pm because of the B&B hours.
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