A family determined to save their beloved village pub have returned from France to restore it to its former glory.

Roland Whatley-Bates and his wife Beverley celebrated opening the Rising Sun in Beltinge last week after its doors were shut for seven months. The pub – the only one in the village – has undergone an extensive refurbishment and the couple could not be happier.

Beverley said: “I’ve always wanted this pub so when the chance came up we had to take it. It would have been such a shame for it to close and die.

“There are so many pubs closing down and we just didn’t want that to happen here. The customers are all local, and if it’s closed there’s nowhere left to go.

“The response from people has been fantastic, we’ve had so much support. There have been people coming in, old and new, with familiar faces in the village coming to say thank you for keeping the pub going.”

Beverley and Roland – whose daughter Holly has taken on the role of bar manager – used to run the Waterways Caravan Park in Reculver before they moved to France five years ago.

Now Beverley hopes her previous hospitality experience will help with the new emphasis on food at the Rising Sun, which is owned by Enterprise Inns.

There is a new chef in place and different menus for the restaurant, including a la carte, traditional bar food, lunch menu and even tapas snacks.

It has also already achieved a five-star rating from food standards inspectors. Beverley added: “The pub inside is completely different – nothing is the same. We wanted to have a pub with a modern twist, so we have lots of light and it’s airy as well.

“It just needed to be updated really, so we’ve completed the revamp.”

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