Although in these days of pubs closing on a daily basis they are usually ones run by a leaseholder and owned by one of the conglomerates - I won't pass comment here as plenty of others are doing so elsewhere. So it was still a surprise to everyone in the area when a successful freehouse, The Royal Oak in Wivelsfield, East Sussex, closed its doors.
Fortunately the pub has been bought and the new owners are currently renovating this wonderful 300 year old building ready to open once again on the 27th November. Part of Gemma and Nigel's (the owners) plans are to grow their own vegetables to serve in the pub. Having spotted this story in the local paper I went around and met them to see if I could help. They jumped at the chance and so it is that Fork Handles Garden Services will now be building, planting and maintaining the veg patch at the Royal Oak.
There are lots of great ideas that Nigel and Gemma are working on, including the possibility of opening up a community plot and also planting up a small orchard.
That's all for the future, the priority at the moment is to get the rest of the pub grounds respectable for opening day - it's amazing how quickly nature encroaches when left unchecked, so our work is cut out with back breaking raking, hoeing and digging but the place will look great on opening day.
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