From public school to public house via the army

"I think running a pub is a natural progression for many ex-public schoolboys," says Andrew Freeland ­ or Fruity to his friends and regulars at the Tunnel House in Cirencester.

"Working hard and being with people ­ I think the two things complement each other very well."

The son of Norfolk farmers, Freeland attended Ampleforth College, a Benedictine school in York, which counts actor Rupert Everett, rugby player Lawrence Dallaglio and sculptor Antony Gormley among its former scholars.

When he left Ampleforth, Freeland went to Agricultural College at Cirencester before going into the army, where he worked his way up to the rank of captain in the Coldstream Guards.

Leaving the army in 2001, he worked in the City before "realising that wasn't what I wanted to do" and ended up working in a pub in Sydney.

"I came back for a wedding and had intended to go back to Australia when a friend heard that the Tunnel House was for sale. I postponed my flight and never went back."

Freeland took over the lease on the Cotswolds pub in 2002.

"I'm sure the masters at Ampleforth wouldn't be surprised to hear that I run a pub," he laughs.

"I fully enjoyed public school. They took an attitude that we were adults and we were allowed to drink from quite an early age ­ not encouraged to drink, but, in the sixth form, if you wanted to have a glass of beer, you were allowed to.

"We were allowed to go to the pub at school, which is quite rare nowadays. I think that's good, as it definitely teaches you to respect alcohol from an early age.

"If it's not seen to be a naughty thing to be doing all the time, I think one doesn't do it so often."

The Tunnel House attracts a diverse clientele and is popular with students from the Agricultural College, polo clubs, locals, walkers and cyclists.

Freeland is very much hands-on at the pub, and even organises an annual charity boxing event. The last one raised £10,000 for charity and the next is planned for this year's August bank holiday weekend.

The pub has also built up a reputation for its food, doing up to 600 covers each week in the summer.

"It's very good food, but it's not gastro pub food," says Freeland. "The Tunnel House is a good old English pub and we want to keep it like that.

"In my view, a pub in the countryside is there to serve the public. It's a public house and traditionally a pub is a place where one serves alcohol, one sits, chats, smokes.

"I think a good landlord has to be welcoming to everybody, interested in what people have to say. It's not something you can put on.

"I think you need to know about your business, you need to be able to explain the food and the wine and you just need to be knowledgeable about your business otherwise you don't look professional."