The pub on the Welsh border named the best in the UK

You can’t get much closer to Wales than the hostelry named the UK’s pub of the year.

The Bailey Head in Oswestry is the winner of The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Pub of the Year and lies just a mile from the border between Wales and England.

The town sits in Shropshire, but has strong Welsh cultural and historical ties, and many residents in the area speak Welsh or have Welsh heritage.

In some places just outside Oswestry, like Pant or Llanymynech, you can cross between the two countries simply by walking across the road.

CAMRA’s Pub of the Year holds a special success story – a rags-to-riches tale after the owners turned what was once a closed local into a haven for the local community.

The Bailey Head had been failing under the ownership of a major pub company and was listed by CAMRA as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) to protect it from redevelopment. Nine years ago, it was bought by Duncan Borrowman and Grace Goodlad who poured their knowledge and passion into transforming the pub.

Their dedication means that the Bailey Head has won a staggering roster of awards from CAMRA, the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA), and TripAdvisor.

Community and inclusion are at the heart of the pub, and it acts as a hub for locals to come together for good causes through events like their charity pub quizzes and live music.

Landlord Duncan Borrowman said: “We have always had a policy of Everyone Welcome, any person should feel happy and comfortable coming in by themselves and enjoying a drink, either on their own or chatting to other customers. We thrive on being the heart of the community and a place where people gather to celebrate or commiserate.

“While all of the focus tends to be on us as a couple, this win was also down to our incredible team of welcoming and knowledgeable staff, and to our wonderful regulars who have become very much a community in their own right.”

Aside from providing a welcoming atmosphere, the Bailey Head also boasts an impressive array of cask beer and cider.

Landlady Grace Goodlad said: “We are thrilled, we hope we can live up to the award. In our wildest dreams we never thought we would win CAMRA Pub of the Year. From small beginnings nine years ago, we have taken everything one step at a time, through COVID, slowly improving to the point where we now have twelve handpulls serving six cask beers and six ciders and perries, plus sixteen other draught lines.

“When we bought the pub nine years ago it was failing and had been listed as an Asset of Community Value by the local CAMRA branch. That listing made it possible for us to save it from potentially becoming housing and turning it into the pub it is today.”

CAMRA Awards Director Laura Emson the pub’s landlord and landlady for their exceptional work: “There could not be a more deserving winner for the Pub of the Year than the Bailey Head. In a time when running a pub is a significant challenge, the commitment and enthusiasm Duncan and Grace show should be highly commended and seen as an example. January can be an especially tough time for our locals, so please get out and visit them and provide the support that is so desperately needed for pubs across the UK.”