Guests trapped in a North Yorkshire pub were finally rescued after snowploughs reached them, but some chose to stay behind with staff
North Yorkshire: So, there was this wild situation at the Tan Hill Inn, the highest pub in Britain. A bunch of guests got snowed in over the weekend, and it was quite the adventure.
Finally, on Tuesday, two snowploughs made it through to rescue them. But get this—four guests, including two Germans and a dog named Agatha, decided to stick around with the staff. Talk about commitment!
The pub owner, Andrew Hields, got the good news around 2:30 PM. He mentioned that the roads were still pretty rough, and the staff would head home as soon as it was safe.
Meanwhile, 23 guests, including three Australians, were still holed up at the inn, which sits at a whopping 1,732 feet above sea level. They even thought about calling a helicopter to get everyone out, but it didn’t come to that.
On Monday, the snowplough made its first attempt, but the wind just blew the snow right back. A local farmer tried to help in his Land Rover but had to turn back. It was a real mess!
They had enough food to last for ages, but they ran out of breakfast sausages and, you guessed it, Malbec wine. The pub manager, Nicole Hayes, was one of the staff who stayed behind. They even had a curry night and watched Newcastle beat Arsenal. Sounds like a cozy time, right?
Nicole joked about the Australians drinking all the Malbec, saying they were safe and warm but missing their families. A yellow weather warning was in effect, and the manager was urging folks not to try to reach the inn.
Andrew praised his staff for keeping everyone entertained and well-fed, saying they were doing things the old-fashioned way. The pub is pretty isolated, and while it doesn’t snow as much as it used to, it can still get cut off by big drifts.
He reflected on past weather issues, saying they’ve had times when the weather was fine, but then suddenly, they were snowed in. The pub is well-prepared for emergencies, having been featured in a Christmas advert back in 2017.
In 2021, they had another snow incident where 61 guests, including a tribute band, got stuck during Storm Arwen. It seems like the Tan Hill Inn has its fair share of snowed-in stories!
