This Christmas it snowed and I got to drink in a gingerbread house and no I didn’t dream it or fall into a children’s book. It actually happened!
Growing up in Australia my Christmases were always a sunny affair spent on the beach. Since moving to the UK I’ve now spent almost 5 Christmases in the UK or Europe and they are just not the same but that’s a post for another day. The main difference is generally the weather so when we woke to snow on the 27th any feelings of jealousy about my family being on the beach quickly washed away. WE HAD SNOW!!
Now, what better way to celebrate the snowy Christmas than to venture to a couple of villages over where the local pub had transformed itself into a gingerbread house for the festive season.
The pub is The Queen Victoria and it’s in the small village of Priddy in deepest darkest Somerset. It’s a lovely pub and a big hit with the walkers and cavers (as well as the locals) due to its relaxed atmosphere, good food, great service and that there is no carpet so muddy boots and dogs are allowed and in most cases encouraged! We usually would visit in the summer but with the snow and the change of look we just had to head up for a cheeky pint.
The landlord raises a lot of money for local charities throughout the year but Christmas is a time when they pull out the big guns and this year was no different.
It became a freaking Ginger Bread house!!
The whole outside was transformed with sweets, gingerbread men, candy canes and they even renamed the pub- The Gingerbread Inn. Apparently, all the decorations were made by a couple of people in the village and had been stored in their living room for the last couple of months ready for when it was all to be revealed. The decorations went on first and then the lights that adorn the pub light it up nice and bright. I would certainly recommend visiting late afternoon you can see it both in the natural light and then with all the lights on against the wintery night sky.
There is also a Christmas tree made completely of old wine bottles like you needed, even more, reasons to visit. It’s a truly magical and extremely clever idea that has gathered lots of attention in the local areas, as well as being, picked up by the Metro and ITV. I’m sure its help raised a lot of money for the Children’s Hospice South West which is the main reason behind all the effort that it takes to put this together. To have the idea itself is amazing but then to actually pull it off and raise alot of money for charity I couldnt applaude the pub landlord any more if I tried.
I don’t how much longer it is staying for so if you want to to keep your holiday festivities going and can get to Somerset then make sure you plan in a little trip to visit the Gingerbread Inn. There won’t be many times in your life that you can say you drank in a Gingerbread house and I promise you won’t end up like Hansel and Gretal unlesss maybe you drink a bit too much scrumpy.
The Queen Victorias facebook page has a lot more pictures and videos if you need further inspiration to come and visit https://www.facebook.com/queenvicpriddy/
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