OUR STORY
We took over the Dinnington Docks in October 2018. But the story started some 40+ years ago. As a child, each summer I would be sent off to stay with my God Father, a man with 2 great passions in life, trains and beer. So, it followed that each summer visit was spent travelling around Northamptonshire and surrounding counties visiting pub after pub and heritage train lines, as well as helping him build his ‘n’ gauge model railway – a shared passion.
Within a few years, I had a collection of beer mats, bar towels and stolen glasses representing pretty much every brewery in the country. At 10 I could describe the flavour of beer, how it was made and some of the history of the brewery – and my parents never could understand why I liked beer!
About 18 years ago, a friend told me about a pub, a strange public house that served great ales, but was a little odd. That weekend I convinced my wife to jump on our bikes and ride a few miles out of Ilminster to sample the beer. The Rose & Crown, as it was called then, was easy to find and on entering the front door it was like stepping back in time. We ordered, ordered again – the beer was superb, and then one local asked if we knew about the pub’s history, I said I didn’t. We listened to the story of the Dinnington Docks, instantly the Dinnington Docks was my favourite pub…
When I found out it was for sale, I had to buy it. I might be a romantic, but I love this pub, and its team of simply lovely people – both sides of the bar. Together we’ll get the Docks back to its former glory, this will be no modern makeover, it will be a caring loving restoration – the Dinnington Docks will be great again.
