After waiting two-years to celebrate Christmas, The Inn Collection Group has pulled out all the stops to give its customers the most wonderful time of the year.
The pub company, which has inns in Yorkshire, Lancashire, County Durham, Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, has decorated its sites with a dazzling three miles of Christmas lights, a whopping 2,400 feet of garland, 100,000 bulbs, 20,000 baubles and 60 Christmas trees.
The good will and spirit goes even further than dazzling décor and Christmas cocktails as it embraces the true message of Christmas, which is giving.
At the group’s Black Swan in Helmsley, North Yorkshire, skaters took to the ice as the first snow of the season fell, on a rink outside the inn (pictured), provided by The Inn Collection Group for the community to use free of charge while mulled wine booths raised funds for local charities.
In Sunderland, 30 older people - including many pensioners who live alone – enjoyed a Christmas party with live entertainment and a three-course festive meal laid on by the group’s The Seaburn Inn They even delivered a festive lunch to Sunderland resident 93-year-old Lyn Overend who had been due to attend the party and switch on the inn’s Christmas lights but was housebound.
In Cumbria, the group’s The Waterhead Inn at Ambleside and The Coniston Inn at Coniston gave people affected by power cuts caused by Storm Arwen free bed and breakfast and hot food and drinks until power was restored at their homes, while at The Angel Inn at Bowness on Windermere provided showers and hot meals and drinks to families.
And The King’s Head Inn at Newton under Roseberry in Teesside gave free bed and breakfast to families without power in their homes.
The Inn Collection Group’s operations director, David Campbell said, “This Christmas is more special than ever before. After the challenges of the past 19 months, it’s the first time we can all look forward to celebrating the season together with our loved ones.
'For that reason, we wanted to pull out all the stops this year and deliver an unforgettable experience for our customers and the communities around our inns.
“We wanted to embody the whole spirit of Christmas and that means helping others – whether that’s opening our doors to people affected by the recent storms or giving to the communities around our inns with seasonal projects like our ice rink and older people’s Christmas party.
“It’s the most wonderful time of year and our inns are delivering that Christmas spirit on every level.”
The Black Swan at Helmsley's Pop Up Ice Rink is open from 11am - 8pm until Sunday 5 December.