Coombe Bissett pub named Rural Pub of the Year for the first time
The Fox and Goose have won the award
A pub in Coombe Bissett has been named Rural Pub of the Year for the first time in his history.
The Fox and Goose pub, on Blandford Road, has been handed the award by the Salisbury and South Wilts branch of the Campaign for Real Ale.
“Apparently we have been close to winning Rural Pub of the Year for a while now,” said landlord Keith Smith, who runs the pub with his wife Sue.
Keith added: “We are very pleased and happy to have won it for the first time.”
Andrew Hesketh, the local CAMRA branch’s Pubs of the Year Co-ordinator, said: “Keith and Sue have been at The Fox & Goose for many years, he runs the front of house while she is the chef.
“The real ales are kept well, the food is excellent and the pub has become a key part of village life.”
The pub was also awarded a second trophy, receiving the first ever Derek Blackshaw trophy. This new award, which will be awarded to each pub named Rural Pub of the Year, was founded in memory of Derek, who died of leukaemia in 2022.
Andrew Hesketh said: “It commemorates a great man and branch chairman whose interpersonal skills were exceptional. He felt passionately about the survival of rural pubs, many of which he saw disappear in this area over the past 40 years.
Keith said: “It is particularly nice to be awarded the first-ever Derek Blackshaw Trophy. I knew Derek as he used to come here to eat with his wife Sue. He was a lovely man.”