The Swan Inn wins prestigious award just a year after reopening.
A little over a year ago The Ballard family moved into The Swan Inn, Great Horwood, The pub like many other's had been closed since covid had struck, Both Jon & George agreed, when they walked into the pub, whilst a little dusty and smelly, from leaks and being closed for over 2.5 years, they fell in love with the charm of the building, adding you could feel that the pub needed to be a pub again, it was such a shame that such a quintessential institution such as a village country pub laid dormant and neglected.
Having worked for one of the largest PubCo's at a senior level for many years, Jon & George were frustrated with restrictions placed on staff
to allow real hospitality to flourish, and believed they could make something magical happen, with nothing more than keeping it simple.
The now family run Pub is situated in a hidden gem of Buckinghamshire, little did we know the reason it is called GREAT Horwood!? It has a thing called community, a longing to be there for each other, not for gain, but because it is nice and the right thing to do, and GREAT Horwood has this in spades!
We have said time and time again, our pub is not anything special, we came up with the concept and the team have run with it,
Great Atmosphere, Great Quality Food, Great Drink Selection without flounce, just honest and affordable for all.
Since moving in, customers who were thinking of moving out of the village as it had become soulless, in need of a beating heart, have now firmly set roots again now the pub is open, others who have lived in the village for years, and had not met many people have become firm friends with fellow villagers, this is what a great pub does.
This is the importance of pubs, and why we love The Swan, love this industry, you can walk into a cafe or coffee shop, get your product and sit at a table, all alone enjoying your coffee or food, which is fine, everyone needs a little bit of 'me' time, but you walk into a pub, there will always be someone to have a conversation, someone willing to join you for a social drink, someone that can become that dependable lifelong friend, someone who can help with that job you need doing, this is why pubs and the vital role they play in society must be protected and supported, we are fortunate to have some amazing local independent pubs around us, all fighting with rising costs and working tirelessly to keep the doors open, all the owners have the love of the industry, and all require you to vote with your feet and visit to keep this industry alive.
Saturday 21st June something unbelievable happened, our beautiful little country pub, The Swan Inn, Great Horwood, who do nothing more than welcome regulars and new faces in to our home with a warm atmosphere, great home cooked food with out flounce just made with passion, a firm believe to not reinvent the wheel, but just to oil the cogs and do it right, has won the ‘The Best Pub’ in Milton Keynes and surrounding areas at The MK Inspirational Awards, out of 3000 entries, some big chains and fellow independents, we are so proud to have been awarded the title of BEST PUB!
George & I are the driving force, but this award must be for our team, who listened to our vision, what we wanted to achieve and ran with it, without these guys we would not be here, from our super chef Dan who sends out passion on a plate day in, day out from our little matchbox of a kitchen, to June and all the other KP’s right through to John, Jo, Vicki, Graci and the rest of our Front of house team! We are so incredibly proud of them all.
Want to see what all the fuss is about? Come along and see for yourself, from our beer garden, great home cooked food, Traditional Sunday Roasts, Two for One Burger Nights, Lunch Clubs, Art & Craft Evenings, Free Pool to live music and events, The Swan Inn has it all, as we always say 'Bring conversation and laughter, we have the rest covered'.
To see our menu please visit https://www.innvigorate.uk/main-menu
Check out our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/theswangreathorwood/ for an up to date overview of what's coming up.
