Snow-covered pub guests become ‘friends for life’

Staff at a pub notorious for “snow-ins” say the latest group of stranded visitors had become “friends for life” after being caught in a weekend snow storm.

Twenty-three guests – including a four-year-old child and a dog – and six staff members have spent their fourth day inside Britain’s highest pub, the Tan Hill Inn, after becoming trapped following heavy snowfall on Saturday night. , spent lurking in the Tan Hill Inn.

Pub manager Nicola Hayes said the group had spent time playing games, watching films, singing and dancing at an isolated venue in the Yorkshire Dales.

“It’s like one big family here at the moment: we’ve all swapped numbers, swapped life-stories, we’ve laughed, we’ve cried, it’s amazing,” he said.

The pub staff is used to accommodating stranded guests.

In November 2021, about 60 people became trapped in heavy snow at Sarai – which is 1,732 feet (528 m) above sea level – after Going to see an Oasis tribute band.

Despite snowfall warnings, guests went to the pub on Saturday night and have since been cut off.

Ms Hayes said: “When we saw up to six feet of snow drifting down the main road in front of the pub we realized we couldn’t get out.”

He said he had to provide elsewhere for some of his guests.

“Some customers were at work yesterday so I’m taking selfies with them to prove that they’re stuck here with me,” she said.

Ms Hayes said some guests were a bit “gentle” on Tuesday morning after “a big party last night”.

“Everyone was so happy, we were dancing and singing, it was really nice.”

She said: “Yesterday we watched a movie, played games, sang songs and ate food.

“We have a month’s stock on site so we have plenty of food.”

Ms Hayes said she did not know how long these conditions would continue as snow removal plows struggled to clear the drifts.

“It’s coming at us from the A66, that’s the problem. There was only one plow that came yesterday and it struggled to get through and couldn’t clear the whole road.

“As soon as the driver removed the snow, layers of snow followed him.”

Meanwhile, the pub manager has taught Paul Wright, an Australian on a three-week holiday in the UK, to build his first snowman.

“At first he had forgotten the eyes, so we took a carrot for him, attached a nose to it, and he added some eyes and a little tuft of hair,” she said.

Ms Hayes said guests were not charged for additional time staying at the inn, but were asked to make a donation to a mountain rescue charity.

Reflecting on the snowboarding experience so far, she said that she has made “friends and memories that will last a lifetime”.

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