21/07/2026
Over the past few weeks, we’ve spent a lot of time wondering whether we should say anything publicly. We’ve always believed that our actions should speak louder than our words, but today we feel it’s time to tell you how we’re really feeling.
We took over The Bell in September 2024 with nothing but hope, determination and a genuine love for hospitality. From day one, our goal was simple: to create a warm, welcoming village pub that people could be proud of. Somewhere that brought people together, created memories and became part of the community.
What many people haven’t seen is what has happened behind the scenes.
From the very beginning, we faced challenges that went far beyond the normal difficulties of running a pub. Before many people had even met us, opinions had already been formed. Some never gave us the opportunity to prove ourselves or simply get to know who we are.
We inherited a difficult situation and, as required by law, worked with the team we inherited. It was an incredibly challenging time. We experienced behaviour that no employer should have to face, from misconduct and intimidation to actions that caused significant disruption to both ourselves and our new team. When those situations finally came to an end, we were then faced with legal claims that ultimately came to nothing, but not before causing months of stress, worry and heartache.
We carried on.
For months, our days began before sunrise and often didn’t end until four o’clock the following morning. We cooked breakfasts, cleaned rooms, served lunches, worked evening service, closed the pub and then carried on decorating, repairing and improving the building throughout the night before starting all over again a few hours later.
We scrubbed every corner of a venue that had sadly been neglected for years. We repainted the pub ourselves, repaired countless problems ourselves and invested every ounce of energy we had into making The Bell somewhere we could all be proud of. At the same time, we continued managing our other successful venues, simply because that’s what we do.
We aren’t saying this because we want sympathy. This industry has always demanded sacrifice, and we’ve happily given everything we have because we genuinely love what we do.
But the reality is that this journey has been incredibly painful.
Along the way we’ve experienced sabotage, false accusations, damage to our property, abusive messages sent not only to our business pages but to our personal accounts, repeated complaints made with the sole intention of harming us, signage torn down, obstacles placed in front of our attempts to promote the business and constant attempts to undermine everything we’ve worked so hard to build.
There have been times when we’ve questioned how much more we could take.
We’ve also battled through circumstances completely outside our control: road closures, water and power outages, major construction work surrounding the pub, disruptions that affected our customers’ experiences and online reviews, tourism declining, rising costs across every part of the business, increasing energy bills, soaring food prices, rising beer prices, rent increases, business rates and the wider economic pressures that every independent hospitality business is facing today.
We’ve even had people interfere with our booking systems, graffiti our signs and car park, leave hurtful messages inside the pub itself, direct abuse at our staff and continually try to discourage us from continuing.
The truth is, we could never fit everything we’ve experienced into one message. The sheer number of painful challenges, setbacks and deeply upsetting situations we’ve faced over the past two years is impossible to put into words. There have been countless moments that have tested us emotionally, physically and mentally—many of which we’ve never spoken about publicly and probably never will. This message only scratches the surface of what has happened behind the scenes, but we wanted you to understand that our journey has been far more difficult than most people could ever imagine.
Through all of this, we have simply kept turning up.
Because we believe local pubs matter.
Across the UK, pubs are closing at an alarming rate every single week. Every closure means another community loses somewhere to meet, celebrate, grieve, laugh and simply spend time together.
That’s why we’ve always tried to stay open whenever we possibly could, even when it wasn’t financially sensible to do so. We wanted people to have somewhere to go, somewhere that felt welcoming, somewhere that was there when so many others had disappeared.
To those who have stopped while travelling through, who have told us they wish we were their local, who have thanked us for keeping this pub alive, you have no idea how much your kind words have meant.
To our wonderful locals and supporters from further afield who stood beside us when others wouldn’t, defended us when we needed it most and believed in us before we’d even had a chance to prove ourselves, thank you.
You have carried us through some of the darkest moments we’ve ever experienced.
You are the reason we kept going.
You are the reason we continue to fight.
We’re incredibly proud of the team we’ve built. They have shown resilience, loyalty and professionalism in situations that no hospitality team should ever have to face. They continue to welcome every customer with a smile despite everything that’s happened behind the scenes, and we couldn’t be more grateful for every single one of them.
Most importantly, we’re proud of what we’ve achieved together.
Despite everything, we’ve watched friendships form, birthdays celebrated, weddings planned, families reunited, dogs welcomed through the doors, laughter shared and memories created.
Those moments remind us why we started this journey in the first place.
We know not everyone will support us, and we’ve accepted that. But we also know there are far more good people than bad. Every pint bought, every meal enjoyed, every recommendation made, every kind review, every smile and every conversation has helped keep this pub alive.
In the current climate, your support has never been more important.
Independent hospitality is under enormous pressure, but we refuse to give up.
We have fought every day since September 2024, and we will continue to fight.
Not out of stubbornness, but because we believe The Bell is worth fighting for.
Because we believe our team is worth fighting for.
Because we believe our customers are worth fighting for.
And because we believe local pubs still matter.
Whatever the future brings, we will continue giving everything we have. We will continue improving, continue welcoming everyone through our doors and continue doing our very best every single day.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who has stood beside us. Your support means more than words could ever express.
We’ll keep fighting.
For you.
For our team.
For The Bell.
With gratitude,
Lee & Isabella
