Isles of Scilly residents said they are relieved to be the only part of England able to go to the pub but fear tourists trying to travel to the Tier 1 region.
SCILLY SEASON
Isles of Scilly drinkers enjoy pint in the ONLY place in England you can with all other pubs shut
Updated: 31 Dec 2020, 14:23
ISLES of Scilly punters enjoyed a pint last night in the only place in England you can still go to the pub.
It comes as three quarters of the country was plunged into Tier 4 from midnight and all other pubs closed.
15
15
Boozers enjoyed a pint at The Mermaid pub, one of the only boozers in England that is still openCredit: SWNS:South West News Service
15
The bar in St Mary s is one of a handful that will be serving tonightCredit: SWNS:South West News Service
It’s tradition for islanders to go out in fancy dress on New Year’s Eve, and despite social-distancing rules, tonight will be no different. While his staff will be dressed as minions – from the Despicable Me franchise – Dan said he would be dressed as Gru, the film’s villain-turned-hero, “because I’ve got a bald head”.
A short drive up the road at the Old Town Inn, the landlord Colin McKinnon, 38, obligingly dressed as a golfer – the pub’s fancy-dress theme this year – said celebrations were kicking off early due to the curfew.
“I’ve got tables booked in from two until seven and we’re celebrating New Year’s Eve at 6 o’clock,” said McKinnon. A number of the tables would be occupied by people from the same family, spread out to adhere to the rule of six.
New Year on the Isles of Scilly, last bastion of normality in the UK
Islanders are preparing to see in 2021 with chilli and bingo at the Fraggle Rock inn
Welcome to the last Tier 1 region of the British Isles
Credit: Getty
Islanders on Bryher, one of the Isles of Scilly, are preparing to see in 2021 with chilli and bingo at Fraggle Rock, the stone inn on the island’s rugged northern tip, in what was set to be one of the most ‘normal’ New Year get-togethers in Britain.
The only significant differences from other years was that guests are instructed to sit with their families and not to mix, it will be table service only, and they have to leave by 11pm, so cannot not actually celebrate the turning of the year inside the pub.
This will seal a year of record growth for the award-winning northern pubco. The 13-bedroom inn, which has views overlooking the fells, positioned near England’s largest lake Windermere, is located in one of the county’s most visited villages. The Northumberland-based group has also completed on a 12-room bed and breakfast property alongside The Angel Inn. These sites will continue to trade before a further refurbishment is carried out. The club will reopen as the new The Angel Inn. The deal was completed on Wednesday, December 16. This brings The Inn Collection Group’s estate of freehold sites up to 19, and its number of locations in the Lake District up to six.