Pub receives hospitality award on landlady’s birthday

A PUB in Highmoor Cross has picked up an award.

The Rising Sun Inn was named pub of the season by the South Oxfordshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale.

Kate Makin has been running the Brakspear pub with partner and best friend John Bowe since January 2020.

The award was presented by branch chairman Graham Hards on Thursday last week while Ms Makin was celebrating her 40th birthday.

Ms Makin said: “We are really chuffed as we didn’t know we were nominated or anything like that. I got the pub just before the coronavirus pandemic so it has been a tricky couple of years so I was just shell-shocked.”

The award is given out four times a year and the winner is chosen out of about 130 pubs in the area by a Camra committee of about 20 people.

Mr Hards said: “Camra likes to award really good pubs that are at the heart of their communities and the Rising Sun does a good range of activities and serves good beer.”

Simon Bellinger, a regular for the last 14 years, said: “It is one of the most-friendly places to come to for a drink. The food here is second to none, it really is the top.”

During covid lockdowns the pub delivered takeaways and set up a community shop selling fruit, vegetables, meat and other essentials.

Mr Bellinger said: “It was one of the very few that managed to keep on going during covid and put a huge amount of effort in keeping the place going. They did a huge amount of refurbishment and presented us with, when we were allowed to come back in, the most wonderful atmosphere.”