New terrace awaits village pub’s customers

By Brad Barnes
Published 1st Apr 2021, 14:54 BST
Updated 4th Apr 2021, 07:10 BST
Outdoors at The Bluebell Inn at Helpston.Outdoors at The Bluebell Inn at Helpston.
Outdoors at The Bluebell Inn at Helpston.
A village pub can look forward to reopening for outdoors hospitality this month thanks to work carried out when lockdown kicked in last year.

“We have been getting ready for our Easter takeaways and then we can look forward to reoping on April 12,” said Lesley Newitt, manager of The Bluebell Inn in Woodgate, Helpston.

“We moved the car park entrance in March last year and put in a new front terrace, which means we have a far bigger terrace area at the pub for people to sit and enjoy what we have to offer,” she added. “I think we would have been really stuck for reopening if we had not done that.”

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The beer garden now boasts 12-14 tables, which could in theory seat 70-plus customers, which would be a tremendous boost for the free house which has relied on takeaways - and the support of villagers - when it has been unable to open properly during the pandemic.

Outdoors at The Bluebell Inn at Helpston.Outdoors at The Bluebell Inn at Helpston.
Outdoors at The Bluebell Inn at Helpston.

“We will be offering food from Thursday to Sunday initially,” said Lesley. “Our chef, Dan, has put together a ‘pots’ menu, so all the dishes will be served in a pot with a fork, that way we don’t have to worry about going back and forward to tables.

“Then if the heavens open, and we have no overhead cover apart from sun umbrellas, people will be able to take the pot home with them.”

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