Helping the Hop Pole Inn thrive
Last year, we told the story of how the villagers of Limpley Stoke in Wiltshire saved their last remaining pub and brought it back to life.
As the pub heads into the second summer of its new life, we take a trip back to see how things are going and to offer a little help with preparing the pub garden for high season.
Watch the video above or read on for the highlights.
‘It’s been a whirlwind year,’ reflects Hannah Randall, who runs the community-owned pub with chef partner Charlie Rawlings.
‘But we’ve just won an award for Pub of the Year in the South West and also got ranked the 29th best pub in the country, which is pretty cool within the first year.’
Since we were here last, the pub garden has also undergone an extensive renovation.
‘We reopened the garden recently after a lot of work by volunteers,’ says Hannah, ‘and it’s important to us as a nice, safe space for families to enjoy the sunshine.
‘We’ve put a lot of new bulbs in, a lot of new herbs and vegetables, and just spruced it up. There’s also new lighting in there, which is amazing.’
And this is where we come in…
‘Everyone's always complimented us on how nice the lighting is [in the pub],’ says Hannah, ‘and when it becomes darker in the evening, we want to light the garden up so people can still enjoy the space.
‘We chose the Cambridge lights because they’re beautiful and match the aesthetics we wanted. They don’t point straight into the garden, they point at the wall, so the light bounces off it...and creates a really nice atmosphere outside.’
‘People sit out here for the whole day on the weekend,’ adds Charlie, ‘which they probably wouldn’t do if they were inside.
‘The Corston lighting creates a subtle, warm light along the back of the garden in the evenings. It was a bit of a dark, dead space before that after 9 or 10 o’clock, but now the glow draws people.’
Published on 28th May 2026
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