Restored pub saves drinkers a drive

Residents of Widdington no longer face a three mile drive to get a drink. The only village pub-left shuttered and near-derelict by a brewery a year ago has been restored. Landlord Charlie Byrne, who runs the pub as a free house has spent 12 months rebuilding and modernising the Fleur de Lys to give the village a medieval-style bar and restaurant. Mr Byrne, 25, a former hotel manager, has turned three small rooms into a single bar with inglenook fireplace and exposed beams. Other work has made room for a 30-seat restaurant. He now hopes the pub will have enough charm to attract visitors despite a two-mile drive up the cul-de-sac to the village. The pub also offers beer from the wood and has a dart board. The usual fare will include a selection of steaks, duckling with pork and black cherries, dover sole in oyster, chive and cream sauce and chicken breasts in leek sauce.