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The Beeswing Inn

East Cowton, DL7 0BD
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About The Beeswing Inn

At the heart of our village, The Beeswing Inn offers a place where everyone belongs. Enjoy a warm and comfortable home from home setting for a quiet drink or meal, soak up the electric atmosphere as friends and neighbours gather to watch live sport, and experience the excitement of our live music events that bring the whole pub to life. Whatever the occasion, you’ll always find great company, great hospitality, and an atmosphere to match.

In short, The Beeswing Inn is a pub that effortlessly transforms from warm and cosy, to electric on match days, to vibrant and exciting when live music takes centre stage, all while retaining the friendly, welcoming atmosphere of a true village local.

I believe The Beeswing Inn is the heart of the community because it is so much more than a place to eat and drink. It is where people come to celebrate, to grieve, to laugh, to find support, to volunteer, to raise money, to make friends and, sometimes, simply to know they are not alone.

While I may be the landlady, I’ve never believed this is my pub. It belongs to the people who walk through the door every day. My role is simply to look after it so that it continues to be a place where everyone feels welcome, valued and part of something bigger than themselves. We don’t just serve our community, we help hold it together.

About the Local Community

For me, supporting the community goes far beyond fundraising. I believe a village pub should be the heartbeat of its community—a place that brings people together, strengthens local organisations and helps improve the lives of those around it. Wherever I can make a difference, whether through my business or my own time, I will.

Our support extends across all generations. We proudly sponsor local grassroots football teams, providing kit sponsorship, raffle prizes, food for players, and free use of our venue for meetings and celebrations. We also support the local cricket club by helping secure sponsorship, managing social media, organising fundraising initiatives and providing hospitality whenever it’s needed. My aim is always to remove barriers so volunteers and clubs can focus on what matters most—supporting their members.

One area particularly close to my heart is palliative care. Together with our customers, we’ve raised significant funds for Community Palliative Care Teams across North Yorkshire, providing not only financial support but also practical equipment and comfort items for patients and their families during the most difficult times.

That commitment has also led me to work directly alongside our local hospital on projects designed to improve the experience of families receiving end-of-life care. From helping create a dedicated family room and a peaceful secret garden, to currently developing a second family room, these are projects that will continue to support families long into the future.

Education is equally important to me. As Chair of the Friends Committee at our local primary school, I help organise fundraising events, provide prizes, offer free venue hire, and encourage the wider community to support the school. I also volunteer regularly within the school and run a weekly Parents and Toddlers group, which originally began at the pub before growing so successfully that it moved into the school itself.

My commitment to the community extends beyond the pub. I serve as a director of our community-owned village shop, helping ensure another vital local asset continues to thrive. I also work closely with our local church, supporting community outreach projects, providing free venue hire and food for community groups and classes, and collaborating on fundraising events that benefit both the church and the wider village.

None of this is done for recognition. It’s done because I believe a successful pub has a responsibility to support the people who support it. By investing our time, resources and expertise into local organisations, we’re helping create a stronger, more connected and more resilient community.

There are many other groups that I support onto of those listed above – pensioners lunch club, East Cowton Gardening club to name but a few.

I often say that while I may run the pub, it belongs to the village. Supporting the organisations that make our village such a special place is simply part of being its custodian.

About Local Businesses

Supporting local businesses is a fundamental part of how I run The Beeswing Inn. I believe that when local businesses work together, the entire community benefits. Every purchasing decision is an opportunity to invest back into the village and surrounding area.

Our meat is supplied by a local butcher who sources livestock from within a 15-mile radius of his shop, supporting local farmers and ensuring exceptional quality. It’s something I’m incredibly proud of that we can serve steaks that have travelled less than a mile from the farm to our customers’ plates. That story isn’t just about provenance—it’s about supporting local families, reducing food miles and celebrating what our area produces.

Whenever possible, I also choose local tradespeople for maintenance, improvements and community projects. Our village is home to many skilled self-employed businesses, and I believe it’s important to keep investment within the local economy. This is particularly meaningful when working on our hospital improvement projects. The money is raised by our community, and wherever possible it is then spent with local businesses who help bring those projects to life. In doing so, the community’s generosity benefits not only patients and families but also local livelihoods.

Supporting businesses goes beyond financial investment. Inside the pub we have a dedicated recommendations board where local businesses can display their business cards, making it easy for customers to discover trusted local trades and services. We also regularly use our social media platforms to promote local businesses we work with, helping increase their visibility and encouraging others to shop locally.

For me, supporting local businesses isn’t an obligation—it’s a responsibility. By choosing local suppliers, championing independent businesses and promoting the incredible talent within our community, we help create a stronger local economy where everyone benefits. A thriving village depends on thriving local businesses, and I’m proud that our pub plays a part in making that happen.

The relationships I have built with our local suppliers are based on trust, loyalty and a shared commitment to supporting our community. I don’t see suppliers as businesses I simply purchase from—they are valued partners who play an important role in the success of our pub, just as we play a role in theirs.

One of the best examples is our local butcher, who sources livestock from farms within a 15-mile radius of his shop. By choosing to work with him, we’re not only supporting his independent business, but also the local farming families behind every cut of meat we serve. It’s something we’re incredibly proud of that our customers can enjoy steaks that have travelled less than a mile from the farm to their plate. Together, we’re championing quality, sustainability and the local economy.

That same philosophy extends to the many self-employed tradespeople within our village. Whenever we undertake maintenance, refurbishment or community projects, I actively look to use local contractors wherever possible. This is especially meaningful during the hospital improvement projects we fundraise for. The money raised by our community is then reinvested back into the community by employing local businesses to complete the work. It creates a positive cycle where everyone benefits.

Supporting our suppliers goes beyond spending money with them. We actively promote local businesses through our social media channels, recommending companies we’ve worked with and celebrating their achievements. Within the pub, we’ve created a dedicated recommendations board where customers can find business cards for trusted local trades and services. By helping connect local businesses with potential customers, we’re supporting their growth as well as our own.

These relationships work because they’re built on mutual support. Our suppliers know that we value their expertise, their quality and their contribution to the community, and in return they consistently go above and beyond for us. Whether it’s sourcing exceptional local produce, responding quickly when we need assistance, or supporting the charitable and community projects we’re involved in, they are always willing to help because they know they’re part of something bigger than a commercial transaction.

If our pub were no longer here, the impact would extend far beyond losing a customer. Local suppliers would lose a business that actively champions them, promotes them, recommends them and chooses to keep investment within the local economy. Independent tradespeople would lose regular work, our butcher would lose an outlet for locally produced meat, and the countless community projects that rely on local businesses would become much harder to deliver.

I firmly believe that the strength of a village lies in the relationships between its businesses. By supporting one another, we all become stronger.

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About Staff at The Beeswing Inn

I firmly believe that great pubs are built by great people. I see my staff as individuals with ambitions, challenges, strengths and lives outside of work. My role isn’t just to manage them; it’s to help them grow, both professionally and personally.

From day one, every new member of the team is supported through a mentoring system, ensuring they feel welcomed, confident and part of the family. I maintain an open-door policy, meaning my team know they can come to me with work concerns, personal challenges or simply when they need someone to listen. Building trust is just as important as building skills.

I don’t believe in a “one-size-fits-all” approach to employment. I offer flexible rotas to support family commitments, education and wellbeing, along with flexible pay options where possible to suit individual circumstances. During exam periods, my team are encouraged to prioritise their education, with unlimited time away from work so they never feel they have to choose between their future and their job.

I also trust my team to manage their work-life balance through an “anytime holiday” approach, recognising that life doesn’t always fit neatly around a calendar. By treating people like responsible adults, I find they repay that trust with commitment and loyalty.

My investment goes far beyond training someone to do a role. I invest in each person as an individual, encouraging them to develop confidence, learn new skills and take on challenges they may never have believed they were capable of. While I’d love every member of my team to stay with us, I actively encourage them to pursue opportunities that help them achieve their long-term ambitions rather than remaining simply because our pub feels like the easy or safe option. Seeing former team members succeed elsewhere is something I take immense pride in because it means we’ve played a positive part in their journey.

Creating a strong culture is equally important. We regularly organise social events outside of work to strengthen friendships, encourage teamwork and create an environment where colleagues genuinely care for one another. That sense of belonging translates directly into the atmosphere our customers experience.

Ultimately, my goal is to create more than a workplace. I want our pub to be somewhere people feel valued, supported, challenged and inspired. When you invest wholeheartedly in people, they invest wholeheartedly in your business—and that culture is felt by every customer who walks through our doors.

About Charity Work at The Beeswing Inn

Fundraising is one of the ways our pub gives back to the community, and I believe the most successful fundraising happens when it brings people together while making a genuine difference.

Rather than relying on one type of event, I organise and support a wide variety of fundraising activities throughout the year, ensuring there is something for everyone in the community to get involved with. For our local primary school, this includes securing grant funding, organising quizzes, comedy nights, family fun days, village sports days, Easter egg hunts and many other community events. These initiatives not only raise valuable funds but also strengthen relationships between families, local businesses and residents.

I work closely with our local sports clubs by helping organise fundraising events such as race nights, raffles, auctions and barrel sponsorships. Alongside raising money, these events help clubs continue providing opportunities for children and adults to participate in grassroots sport, strengthening the community for future generations.

One of the projects I’m most proud to be involved with is Cowtonbury Music Festival. This annual event has raised more than £222,000, making a significant difference to countless families. Initially supporting a range of cancer-related charities, the festival has since evolved to focus on improving palliative care, helping people receive compassionate end-of-life care and supporting families during some of the most difficult times of their lives.

For me, fundraising is about much more than reaching a financial target. It’s about creating opportunities for people to come together, volunteer, support one another and leave knowing they’ve made a positive difference. Every quiz, raffle, auction, family event and music festival strengthens the bonds within our community while helping causes that matter deeply to us all.

The success of these events is built on collaboration. Local businesses donate prizes, volunteers give their time, customers turn up year after year, and our pub provides a place where those connections can happen. Together, we’ve shown what a community can achieve when everyone pulls in the same direction.

Our fundraising is driven by one simple belief: if we have the opportunity to improve the lives of people in our community, then we should.

Over the years, we have proudly supported a wide range of charities and community organisations, focusing particularly on causes that make a lasting difference to local people.

Education and opportunities for young people are incredibly important to us. We work closely with our local primary school, raising funds through community events, helping secure grants, donating prizes, and providing support wherever it’s needed. We also actively support grassroots sport, helping local football and cricket clubs through sponsorship, fundraising events, venue hire and practical assistance. By investing in young people, we’re investing in the future of our community.

Healthcare and end-of-life care are causes especially close to my heart. Through our fundraising initiatives, including the annual Cowtonbury Music Festival, we’ve supported Macmillan services across North Yorkshire, helping people and families affected by cancer. As our work has evolved, we’ve increasingly focused on improving palliative care within our local community, supporting Community Palliative Care Teams across North Yorkshire by raising funds and providing equipment that helps people receive compassionate care in their own homes.

We also proudly support Herriot Hospice, recognising the incredible work they do in enabling people to receive specialist care and dignity at the end of life while remaining in familiar surroundings with their loved ones.

Alongside these larger causes, we regularly support many smaller local charities, community groups and fundraising events by donating raffle prizes, providing free venue hire, organising fundraising activities and encouraging our customers to get involved. While these organisations may not always receive widespread recognition, they often have a profound impact on the lives of local people, and we’re proud to play a small part in helping them continue their work.

For me, charity is about building partnerships, bringing communities together and using our pub as a force for good. Every event, every raffle, every auction and every fundraiser is an opportunity to make a lasting difference to the people and organisations that make our community such a special place.

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