THE owners of The Wheatsheaf Inn, Wetheral are celebrating 16 years since their takeover of the village pub. 

Graham and Lynne Watt took over The Wheatsheaf Inn in October 2008 as tenants before becoming the pub's owners in 2009. 

Since the pair's takeover, they have prioritised the preservation of the pub's traditional roots whilst also modernising it in certain aspects, with a commitment to quality food, local ales, and a welcoming atmosphere. 

As The Wheatsheaf's owners celebrate the milestone, Graham was on hand to express his delight. 

He said: "I was speaking to a couple of customers recently and nobody can quite believe that it has been 16 years.

"It definitely does not feel that long, we had a year where we were tenants for Punch Taverns and then we purchased the pub the following year.

"I have always said that as long as we keep enjoying it we will keep on doing it and at the moment we are enjoying it and have no plans to be anywhere else.

For Graham, the Wheatsheaf's local popularity has been maintained by the pub's different offerings, with classic pub grub meeting restaurant-quality dishes within its walls.

The Wheatsheaf also prides itself on welcoming all comers from foodies to sports fans.

"The pub has changed over the years but we have always tried to keep it as a traditional British pub but of course, things need modernised and tidied up from time to time," Graham said. 

"We have always done food and when we first started it was more food and drinks but over the the last seven or eight years we have really stepped it up and we are always full for lunch and in the evenings.

"The chef does a fantastic job and we have gone down the root of local first. All of the ales we sell are from Cumbria and all the produce we use in the kitchen is all locally sourced. 

"We are still a traditional pub and you get traditional homemade food on a plate but it is not just pie and chips, you get a lot of things that you get in bistros and restaurants.

"Throughout the day we can three different pubs, at lunchtime we do the traditional pub lunch, in the afternoon you get the drinkers, in the evening you get the eaters and the more of bistro and restaurant food, and after that, you have the sports fans who come in to watch the football."

As the festive period approaches, Graham also gave a flavour of what The Wheatsheaf will be offering this Christmas.

He said: "We completely change our menu at Christmas, we will have a full and new Christmas menu that still has all the classics on it.

"We are going to have the local choir in the pub which is always one of the best nights of the year.

"On Christmas Day we are open for a couple of hours and you honestly can't move in the pub, everyone comes together.

"At New Year we will also have a band and wind down from the festive madness."