Pubs to be proud of: The Three Crowns Inn

Tucked away at the end of a mile of narrow, winding country road sits the Three Crowns Inn. Stepping onto the cobbles leading up to the redbrick building, the first thing you notice is the sound of sheep 20 metres from the door. Two casually dine on fine Herefordshire grass. Another leers at me with a sceptical eye; I almost expect it to amble up and utter: "You aaaaaaint from around these parts aaaarrrrrr ye?"

Although the pub is in the heart of the Herefordshire countryside, it's immediately obvious that the countryside is in the heart of the pub. Being a food-led rural pub, the Three Crowns is supplied by many local producers. As a result, licensee Brent Castle has developed strong friendships with many of the nearby farmers.

Now Brent has begun hosting farmers' markets, which allow him to make the most of his farming contacts, and make some money as well.

"I bring in the local producers," he says in a soft Geordie tone, having dusted off his apron, freshly stained from an afternoon spent in the kitchen. "They're the people I use to provide all the food that goes into the menu at the Three Crowns."

The latest farmer's market, held on a Saturday in September, featured more than 20 stalls, including cheesemakers, chocolate makers and organic brewers as well as producers selling honey, handmade scotch eggs, cider and perry, fresh produce and plants.

Of course there is a financial reason for undertaking something that requires so much work over and above the running of a busy rural pub. Around 500 people attended the last market - many of whom Brent views as potential customers.

This is borne out by the fact that Brent made £1,000 more than what he would normally take on a drizzly Saturday in late September. "People come to the market with the intention to spend. You don't come round here by accident. If you do then you're lost!"

Whiling away late afternoon hours in the company of Brent Castle, it doesn't take long to realise that the Three Crowns is the real deal. Muddy boots sit by the door. The low ceilings are held up by dark beams. I walk on what look like authentic clay tiles. Yellowing newspaper front pages adorn the walls - detailing the last public execution in Herefordshire, in 1863. I notice numerous awards, local and national, and an array of books rest above the fireplace. Well-to-do voices are muttering over fantastic afternoon lunches. The clink of wine glasses can be heard every now and then as a hearty smell fills the air. It's quite clearly a real Herefordshire house.

It's also clear that the Three Crowns, with 70 per cent of trade from food, is a pub for affluent retired farmers and businessmen. As Brent admits, a large slice of his business comes from "the well-heeled grey trade". He tells me they come from as far as Cardiff and Birmingham.

As a result, Brent's menu contains a smattering of high-class cuisine. To start, you might fancy Hereford cheddar and spinach soufflé, or Salcombe crab and melon and mint salad.

His main courses, priced at £14.25, include grilled sirloin of Herefordshire beef with tarragon and mustard sauce, glazed breast of Madgetts farm duck with sweet spiced pumpkin sauce, and grilled gigot steak of Shortwood lamb with salsa verde. It's enough to whet the palate of a man born with the grandest silver spoon in his mouth.

And the food is also evidence of how much stock Brent holds with local producers. It's a policy that extends to every facet of the pub, from the foundations up.

"The floor is made from tiles from the nearby village of Bromyard," Brent explains. "The tables are made from solid Lancashire oak."

He points to a bench built into an alcove. "I've known five people who've died sitting in that chair. Two of them were called John. Don't sit there if you're called John!"

A quick glance at the bar also highlights Brent's commitment to keeping the Three Crowns true to its deep-set roots.

Two ales from local microbrewery Wye Valley are featured, Hereford Pale Ale and Wye Valley Bitter. "I wouldn't know anything else," he says.

But nothing shows Brent's love of the community more than the farmers' market. For him, it's a double pleasure - he exposes the pub to a different audience, keeps things fresh and innovative, makes money, but crucially for him it also gives something back to the local community that has served him so well.

Brent takes me into the kitchen where he starts kneading dough, ready for his bread stall the next day. "It's a community event," he explains. "It's a way of giving something back and that's really important to me. It's also related to the core of our business, which is selling locally based food. That's the reason why we do it. It reinforces that message."

And the message appears to be getting through. Brent is on first-name terms with most of his customers. One has been using the same stool at the bar for the last 17 years.

Another asks Brent's permission to light an "Amaretto Rocket", which involves setting fire to a small wrapped parcel of the Italian liquor. Brent agrees, but says he won't be able to light it. A bet is made, with copious amounts of notes piled up on our table. Brent wins of course, on account of the wrapping paper not being flammable, but humbly declines to take his customer's money. There are more legitimate ways of doing that, of course.

As I bid Brent goodbye, I can't help but think that the farmers' market is just an extension of his passion for his pub. He cares deeply for it, as do his regulars and the various businessmen who come out for a hearty Herefordshire dinner. It's an ethos you'd be hard pressed to find among the unforgiving hustle and bustle of city life.

That I feel slightly reluctant embarking on the long journey home to the Big Smoke is as good an indication as any that the Three Crowns Inn is a Pub to be Proud of.

Something Brent mentioned springs to mind: "This pub has been here for 400 years. We're just passing through."