A DALE caravan park’s pub has undergone a £100,000 makeover and now everyone is being invited to enjoy the new-look facility.
Previously run by a tenant landlord, River View Caravan Park’s Tavern, near Egglestone Abbey, has been taken back in-house and been given a complete refurbishment.
New pub manager Karen Marley said: “We completely gutted it all, the glass, everything. So we have totally remodelled it. It has been incredibly popular and a lot of people are coming in.
“Many people in the park had stopped coming. I think it was because it looked tired, so I think they lost the will.
“The owners of the park have got parks all over the North East and with this one they wanted it to be spectacular.
“They brought in an interior designer and a bar designer to help. It has taken a lot of time and a huge amount of money.”
The result is a spacious pub, complete with new furnishings, a cinematic projector to watch football and a new pool table and dartboard.
Upstairs, a space has been created especially for children, with their own pool table, Xbox console, large bean bags and table football.
Ms Marley said: “We are making this as welcome as possible for the kids, while their parents are downstairs enjoying a drink.”
Along with the refurb, the facility is also putting on free entertainment, such as live music, bingo, karaoke, children’s disco parties, quizzes and bingo.
Ms Marley said: “We are putting things on as added value for residents but I also want people from the area to come along.
“It would be wasted if it was just for residents. It is free for everyone. We genuinely don’t mind if people come along from Barney. Everyone assumes it is a private club, but it is not.”
The tavern is open on Thursday and Friday nights and all day on Saturdays and Sundays.
