Village

Pub of the Year This award, sponsored by Greene King Abbot Ale, acknowledges the part played by country locals in serving the community.

Judges are looking for evidence of a clear strategy to place the pub at the heart of village life.

The intensity of competition has led the judges to shortlist three finalists in this category Bell Inn ­ Denver, Norfolk Giles and Jenny Lewis threw in good jobs with Barclays Bank more than 18 months ago to enter the pub trade, selling their house and car and borrowing money to buy the Bell in Denver, Norfolk.

Even for a couple who were used to checking to ensure the numbers added up, it was a real gamble.

Jenny recalls: "The [trading] figures looked very tight, but the motivation to run the pub was so great."

The Lewises pressed ahead and their faith was rewarded at the end of the year when the Bell's figures topped their business plan by 50%.

Much of the credit stems from the couple's determination to make the Bell a welcoming place to the village's 1,500 population as well as holiday-makers and the shooting and fishing communities thatfrequent the area.

"Before," says Giles, "it was a place that womendidn't like to go into.

The previous owner didn't want people from the caravan park, didn't want shooters, and never let in children."

One of the Lewises' first tasks was to reverse the exclusion policy.

As Jenny explains: "We wanted a broad range of customers and we've made some really good friends from the caravan site."

A children's play area was created in the garden and the pub was re-decorated.

Links were forged with the local community ­ a process made easier by the fact Giles was born and bred in Denver and Jenny comes from not far away.

"We are locals first and businesspeople second," Jenny asserts.

The pub football team, disbanded six years previously, was revived, and the pub now sponsors the local cricket club as well as having an open-door policy towards village clubs, teams and associations that want a meeting place.

It even hosted a church service at Christmas, with the vicar setting up an altar on the bar and the church choir in full song.

£100 was raised for the air ambulance.

Other charities to have benefited from the generosity of the Bell's customers are Macmillan Nurses and Cystic Fibrosis.

Jenny believes one activity that helped re-establish the Bell in the heart of the community was probably the Jubilee celebrations on 2 June.

Then, 60 turned up for breakfast to watch England play in the World Cup, followed by a further 300 plus for the afternoon barbecue.

The celebrations culminated in the evening with a disco and live band.

Giles and Jenny feel the Bell "cannot be pigeon-holed into any type of pub ­ everyone is welcome and we are always open to ideas".

Dyke's End ­ Reach, Cambridgeshire Phil Vincent declined the original invitation to run the Dyke's End in Reach because, he says: "I didn't like the idea of working for 49 bosses".

His remark refers to the 49 shareholders who put together £155,000 to buy the pub after the previous owner boarded it up and was seeking planning permission to convert it for residential use.

Phil and his wife Tessa were persuaded that wouldn't happen, so agreed to take over the pub with the option of buying it from the villagers after three years ­ a purchase they are now intent on making.

As Reach is well off the beaten track and only has a population of around 400, the pub could not survive without attracting customers from outside the village, while not alienating those who helped save it.

Phil's training as a chef helped attract diners to the pub and only the best fresh foods are bought from, whenever possible, local suppliers.

Phil comments: "It's the food that brings them in, especially on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays ­ that is our magnet and that's how we can keep five real ales on the bar."

Although food helps the pub's finances ­ the current wet:dry split is 30:70 ­ the Vincents have gone to great lengths to ensure there is plenty going on for the villagers.

A beer festival is held every year with the last featuring 40 real ales.

The pub is open for local people to learn computer skills, who can then use the equipment free.

As there is no shop in the village, the pub also doubles up as a tuck shop for local children.

Other activities include quiz nights, music sessions, darts tournaments (the pub has two teams), regular events include Burn's Night and Valentine's Night, and food festivals featuring Indian cuisine, or lobster dishes or the chance to tuck in to a dozen different flavoured sausages.

However, the biggest single pay day is when the Reach Fayre hits town, attracting thousands every May Day and the pub is heaving.

Phil and Tessa are more than content with the way things have progressed over the past three years and now aim to "just enhance things like, perhaps, creating space for pétanque or adding a conservatory".

Last November, the Vincents were able to fulfil an ambition that was born not long after they took over the pub.

A chance remark from a visiting war veteran about the state of the war memorial outside the pub led the Vincents to raise £3,000 to have it cleaned and repaired.

Phil adds: "This has established us more than anything else we've done."

Gaggle of Geese ­ Buckland Newton, Dorset Trevor and Jan Marpole are dogged that their pub, the Gaggle of Geese, will not go the way of other hostelries in the surrounding villages and turn into a gastro pub where drinkers are made unwelcome.

Wet sales account for two-thirds and dry, one-third "only because the food is cheap," says Trevor.

The Marpoles are resolute that everyone in the village of Buckland Newton, which has around 400 on the electoral roll, should feel uninhibited about paying a visit.

Since taking over the freehold 15 years ago, the couple have made many improvements.

Boarded-up stonework has been exposed, vinyl flooring replaced with carpets, and the dining area extended.

This has given them the platform to attract locals as well as visitors to the region, which is designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Another major contribution to putting "the Gaggle" on the map is the twice-yearly goose auction started by the previous owner, a keen breeder of geese.

The Marpoles have taken the tradition to new heights, with last May's auction attracting around 3,500 people nationwide.

The Gaggle specialises in rare breeds, and buyers and sellers are informed of the breeds up for auction via a dedicated website run by Jan. The knock-on effect is good business for the pub and huge benefits for local charities, who receive 20% of the sale price.

Jan is dubbed Mother Goose for her work, which raised £6,700 for three local charities last year.

The village has also benefited.

It now has a superb village hall, thanks to the auctions raising enough money to qualify for a Lottery grant.

In all, the auctions have raised more than £50,000 for local charities and good causes over the years.

The 120 kids at the village school are other beneficiaries, enjoying their Christmas dinner at the pub for £4 per head.

Villagers, particularly newcomers, can take their concerns to the pub and get an attentive ear because Trevor is on the parish council and Jan is on the Neighbourhood Watch committee.

Newcomers also get an invitation to join the pub's thriving skittles teams or the chance to involve themselves with the many organisations that meet at the Gaggle, which includes the bell ringers, goat club, investment club and vintage car club.

The pub also has an internet café at the end of the bar.

The Marpoles are approaching 30 years' service in the pub trade but remain as enthusiastic as the day they started, with the Gaggle clearly their pride and joy.