Bank Holiday weekend celebrations for husband-and- wife publicans

A husband-and-wife team are marking the first anniversary of running a popular village pub with a Bank Holiday weekend of celebrations dubbed ‘Birthday, Beer, Beef and Bands’.

Justin and Kellie Cooper, who share 30 years’ experience in the pub industry, will celebrate their first 12 months at the Three Tuns on Church Bank in Eggleston, near Barnard Castle, over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Friday evening will consist of an acoustic night, while a special Safari mixed grill will be on offer during a Saturday steak night.

Well-known local group The Milliners will perform on Sunday night and then Loose Like A Goose will entertain pub-goers on Monday evening to round up the celebrations.

“We’re certainly looking forward to celebrating our first year here,” says Justin, 43.

“It’s been a fantastic first year for us, we’ve increased our opening times and made lots of changes which has gone down well with regulars and walkers alike.

Kellie, 40, is a marketing professional who also has 10 years’ experience in the pub trade and has trained as a chef.

“We love it here and we’re constantly looking for ways to improve,” she said.

“We’ve achieved a lot of what we set out to do in the first year but we have some exciting plans for the future.”

The couple, who have three children and live in Aycliffe Village, Newton Aycliffe, have also recently launched their first room to offer an all-round B&B service, which is already proving popular.

Situated near the historic market town of Barnard Castle, which is less than 10 minutes away by car, the Three Tuns is surrounding by stunning green dale and is close to the outstanding natural waterfalls High Force and Low Force, and employs eight people.

Opening times are 12-11pm weekdays (except Tuesdays, 5-11pm) and 11.30am-11pm Saturdays and Sundays. For more details go to thethreetuns.co.uk