Reopened country pub named best in the UK

The Bull, in Charlbury, reopened in July 2023

A 15th-century pub has beaten hundreds of others across the country to be crowned the UK's best.

The Bull, in Charlbury, Oxfordshire, was named the National Pub of the Year at the National Pub and Bar Awards - which were held in London on Tuesday.

Judges praised the rural pub for "blending quintessential qualities with the finesse and flawless service of a contemporary operation".

Murray Ward, from the pub, told the BBC that the award "means a huge amount", adding: "We're delighted and we're very humbled as well."

Mr Ward said Tuesday's success had been a "double whammy", after The Bull was crowned the best pub in the south east, and then in the UK as a whole, within 15 minutes of one another.

"It is definitely one of the main highlights of my career, and definitely a highlight for a Tuesday," he said.

The pub's team, including Murray Ward [second from the right], collected the award on Tuesday

Praising the pub, those judging the awards said The Bull had "cemented its reputation as a leading countryside pub" since it reopened in July 2023.

They praised it for its "stripped-back design, brilliant front-of-house team and exceptional food coming out of the kitchen".

"We're very lucky for what is a relatively small pub in a rural area that we're pretty busy and have a really good and consistent local following," Mr Ward said.

He added: "What we do is pretty honest and pretty simple, and we have a really amazing and really young team that push every single day to make sure that everything is better than it was the day before."

The Bull is owned and operated by the Public House Group - which also runs London venues The Hero and The Pelican.