A 700-year-old pub has gone up for sale with its landlady admitting she is looking forward to riding off into the sunset.

The Cinque Ports Arms in New Romney High Street went on the market last week and is being marketed with an asking price of £1.25 million.

With a reputation for live music, holiday camp trade and ability to hold functions thanks to its large size, the boozer has been described as “fantastic”.

Sharon Epps, who moved in in April 2015 alongside then-business partner Kevin Gibbons, is looking to sell the pub.

The 60-year-old told KentOnline: “It’s hard work to run a pub, especially one of this size.

“It’s not being sold because it’s a dead donkey, in fact it’s the opposite.

“But there’s a lot to do when running a pub and I can’t do it all – my time has come to retire and be happy.”

Having only started working in the establishment after moving back from Tenerife and becoming bored, Sharon has prided herself on being a local girl who has steered the boozer through strange times.

With years lost to the pandemic as well as being the victim of a revenge attack when a car was driven through the wall in 2017, the pub has survived despite the challenges thrown its way.

Although keen to retire soon, with ageing parents to care for, Sharon says she does “not care if it takes years to sell” and just hopes a new owner will keep pulling pints.

Listed by Sidney Phillips, the site has undergone extensive and frequent refurbishment and has seating for 90, a garden with an outside bar and a four-bedroom accommodation.

Robert Cockayne, regional valuations manager for Sidney Phillips, said: “The Cinque Ports is a fantastic business, which is really bucking trends in the hospitality sector.

“It is a well-established and successful business purchasing some 400 brewers’ barrels per annum, but there is still ample room for a new owner to further develop the business by increasing its below-market prices and by introducing additional advertising for the deliberately under-marketed food offering.”