Dozens of people stranded in a pub all weekend due to heavy snow have been making the most of the situation, listening to an Oasis tribute band and planning a karaoke night.
It sounds like the opening of a horror film (The Shining, anyone?) but the 61 guests and staff – and at least one dog – snowed into the Tan Hill Inn have so far found more camaraderie than dread in the experience.
One woman even claimed she doesn’t want to leave the 17th century pub in the Yorkshire Dales – and with the news of a new variant circulating and a return to travel restrictions, perhaps we can’t really blame her.
The adventure/ordeal began on Friday evening, when Storm Arwen brought a blizzard to the pub, which is the highest in the UK, at 1,732 feet above sea level.
It dumped so much snow that a tunnel had to be dug out to access the front door, while nearby roads were left unusable, partly due to fallen power cables.
People had been tempted out of their houses to see Noasis, an Oasis tribute band.
But they ended up getting a full weekend high in the dales, with some having to bed down in the pub. Although there are some rooms available, not everyone could get a bed and photos of sleeping bags and mattresses on the floor soon emerged.
The pub has been keeping people updated on their Facebook page, and announced earlier this afternoon: ‘SORRY GUYS … no one is going anywhere. We have been advised that more power cables have come down… lol. So ….. everyone needs to stay where they are.’
Staff have been trying to keep morale up and are now planning a karaoke night as it appears people will still not be able to leave.
The pub owners added: ‘We are also aware that our customers have been perfect and so wonderful to our hard working staff making the whole time so much easier and full of happy memories for them! SO … who is for karaoke tonight… Might as well…’
It comes after they put on a buffet meal and screened films on a projector, while the band have continued entertaining – and quipped they should change their name to Snowasis.
Mountain rescuers made it through the snow to attend to one guest who needed medical attention for an ongoing condition, while others were getting stressed by the general situation.
But the pub’s manager, Nicola Townsend, 51, said that overall ‘it’s just been lovely and everyone is in really good spirits… it’s a really good atmosphere.
‘They’ve formed quite a friendship… like a big family is the best way I can describe it.
‘One lady actually said “I don’t want to leave”.’
Yesterday evening, guests thanked the seven members of staff stuck inside with them by presenting them with a jar filled with around £300 in cash.
On Sunday, the pub laid on a traditional lunch before guests and staff worked together to decorate the bar for Christmas.
Nicola, from Leyburn, said she feels many of those stranded – including herself – will stay in touch long after they have been freed.
Describing the snowstorm on Friday, she said: ‘The blizzards were horrendous, how the snow was drifting, it was going all the way up to almost the bedroom windows.’
Forecasters have warned the ‘coldest night of the season’ is set to hit parts of the UK tonight, with temperatures dropping as low as minus 10C.
It might get chilly in the pub – but plenty of people are jealous of the experience, or at least can see the benefits.
‘What a lovely place to be stranded,’ one woman wrote on Facebook. Another praised the adventure and said those stuck were ‘lucky’, while one more added: ‘This is a proper lock inn’.
Okay, so… any space left if I hike up there? Can bring some crisps in my backpack.
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