{"id":652917,"date":"2025-12-24T19:47:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T19:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/652917\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T19:47:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T19:47:13","slug":"its-a-social-hub-more-than-a-pub-scottish-community-reopens-its-local-inn-just-in-time-for-christmas-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/652917\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s a social hub more than a pub\u2019: Scottish community reopens its local inn just in time for Christmas | Travel"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s opening night at Scotland\u2019s newest community pub, Oakbank Inn<\/a>, which sits on the Holy Loch in the village of Sandbank, Argyll. It\u2019s a clear, cold night, and the inn couldn\u2019t look more welcoming: a cosy glow from within the historic building, the Cowal hills beyond. The Christmas lights are twinkling, the glasses are charged and there\u2019s a palpable sense of goodwill, cheer, and plenty of pride in the air. By 6pm, it\u2019s buzzing. Locals are already propping up the bar as a stylish woman sweeps in and bags the last table. She is Debbie Rycroft, a local haberdasher. \u201cA pint in my own local,\u201d she smiles happily, relishing a toast with her husband and equally dapper 19-year-old son.<\/p>\n

First-night hiccups are limited to a wonky nozzle and a brief worry about a small radiator leak. \u201cHow many people to fix a heater?\u201d quips someone as a line of concerned faces survey the scene. Almost immediately, a punter walks in with a radiator key. All sorted. Someone orders a Guinness; the bartender pulls it off. A two-part pour, pitchblack perfection with a balanced, creamy top. Good things come to those who wait? Well, this one\u2019s been three years in the making.<\/p>\n

The Oakbank, a landmark building at the heart of Sandbank for the last 160 years, closed at the end of 2022, like so many businesses that struggled in the wake of the Covid pandemic. Next came the closure of the nearby Holy Loch inn. The village was left without a pub \u2013 a huge loss for a rural community.<\/p>\n

Ian MacNaughton remembers sneaking into the pub for a pint, aged 16. These days he\u2019s retired and learning about compliance laws<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A group of locals got together in early 2023, formed a committee, chaired by Sue McKillop, and began the long slog to buy the Oakbank. \u201cIt\u2019s been an uphill struggle,\u201d says Ian MacNaughton, another founding committee member. \u201cI just didn\u2019t think the hill would be so steep!\u201d Now retired, MacNaughton remembers sneaking into the Oakbank for a pint, aged 16. These days he\u2019s learning about compliance laws. \u201cWe must do everything right.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Oakbank\u2019s opening night. Photograph: Sue McKillop<\/p>\n

After an initial rejection, their persistence finally paid off last December with the award of a Scottish Land grant just shy of \u00a3150,000, covering most of the purchase price. In January, McKillop advertised shares, raising more than \u00a323,000 and an \u201cinspiring amount of enthusiasm\u201d from locals. By April this year, they had the keys. It\u2019s been nonstop ever since up until opening night last Saturday, she says.<\/p>\n

While the shares didn\u2019t reach the \u00a390,000 target, people have contributed \u201cthousands of volunteer hours\u201d to get the place ready, Dawn Petherick tells me. They shifted and updated the bar, now an airy sky blue, while the old wood burner\u2019s still there but \u201cneeding work\u201d. Another one for the list. And Petherick\u2019s list is long. She is Oakbank\u2019s development officer, a fixed-term post funded by the initial grant, and, like everyone else involved, she\u2019s been busy all year.<\/p>\n

The view outside the Oakbank. Photograph: Susan Smillie<\/p>\n

The Oakbank has been running pop-ups, workshops and charity mornings during the refurbishment. More events are being added all the time. \u201cWhatever the community wants \u2013 knitting groups, book clubs, exhibitions, \u2018sober nights\u2019 \u2013 it should be a hub more than a pub,\u201d says Petherick. \u201cSomewhere to alleviate social isolation.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that is needed more than ever. Yet another local pub, the Strone Inn across the bay, is set to close at the end of the year. Like many local business owners, Stephen Mitchell is supportive of the Oakbank project. \u201cFair play to them,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s taken them three years, so it\u2019s a real result.\u201d But, he warns, \u201cthe hard work starts now as things are really tough\u201d.<\/p>\n

The best thing about the Oakbank is at the back of the bar \u2013 big glass doors offer views across the Holy Loch<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

McKillop agrees. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting but a wee bit scary,\u201d she says. \u201cWe are under no illusions as to the challenges that lie ahead. Like any pub venue, we will need to keep innovating in order to survive.\u201d But she can take comfort from recent figures; community pubs are doing well. According to the charity Plunkett UK, community-owned businesses are \u201chighly resilient\u201d, with a five-year survival rate of 98%.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re delighted that the Oakbank Community Inn is opening under community ownership,\u201d says James Alcock, Plunkett UK\u2019s chief executive. \u201cWe see time and again how saving local assets like village pubs protects vital services and social spaces, helping to reduce isolation and strengthen communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Oakbank at night. Photograph: Susan Smillie<\/p>\n

Future plans include refurbishing accommodation upstairs, a studio\/gallery space in the adjoining cottage and renovating the commercial kitchen. In a nice piece of alchemy, the pub sits opposite Sandbank\u2019s community-owned garden, so its polytunnels and raised beds will be nurturing hyper-local vegetables destined for that kitchen.<\/p>\n

But the best thing about the Oakbank is the bit you see last. At the back of the bar, big glass doors offer views across the Holy Loch. It\u2019s inaccessible now, but outside the doors, a grassy verge leads to the Holy Loch marina below. It has its own regulars hauling out on the slipway \u2013 giant Atlantic grey seals. With neighbours like that, you can see why McKillop has ambitious plans. \u201cWe\u2019re going to rebuild the rotten deck and make a bridge to connect to the marina,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

That should please boat-owners Tony, Rob and Alan, enjoying a pint beside the bar. \u201cSailors don\u2019t like going places where you can\u2019t go to a pub,\u201d says Rob. \u201cAnd Sandbank\u2019s had absolutely nothing to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHang on,\u201d offers Tony. \u201cIt\u2019s got a lot of history.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Rob\u2019s having none of it. \u201cYou can\u2019t drink a pint of history.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s opening night at Scotland\u2019s newest community pub, Oakbank Inn, which sits on the Holy Loch in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":652918,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[77,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-652917","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-uk","10":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115776274304313208","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/652918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}