Her clever and often witty additions only enhance the quirky charm of the Gun as you go from room to room and then out into the pretty garden with its ivy-clad backdrop glimpsed from the road through a grand, if creaky, pair of gates.
When Covid restrictions forced other pubs to install Perspex screens between tables, Sally went out and found antique windowed doors, which did the job more attractively. So much so that some of them have stayed to make cosy corners.
Empowered team
Then there are a couple of rather unusual urinals which, she admits, divide the crowd. Gents, you’ll have to see for yourselves.
That sense of fun and originality is encouraged in Harris’ team who are empowered to bring their own ideas to a busy events calendar.
Highlight of the year is the pub’s own Summer Bank Holiday music festival, GunFest, which gives local acts a chance to perform in front of hundreds of people, and the usual annual events are given a unique twist each time. Last Hallowe’en it staged a fancy dress contest – for dogs.
Constantly creative
And the Gun’s enthusiastic customers can book their own special occasions and parties in the private dining room or the barn in the garden.
The creativity extends to the kitchen, where freshly-cooked inventive dishes with a European slant are constantly evolving, and the chef’s work is showcased on Monday evenings when a themed menu - French in winter, Spanish in summer – packs out the pub on a formerly quiet night.
And none of that distracts from the Gun’s role as a welcoming and inclusive local where regulars banter and quaff pints of Ringwood ales. It’s the kind of pub where anyone can feel at home – and find a little excitement and a laugh when they need it.
Meet all the 2022 GBPA winners:
The Dartford Sports Bar, Dartford Essex – Admiral Pub of the Year
Strait and Narrow, Lincoln, Lincolnshire – Best City / Urban Pub or Bar
The Three Hills, Bartlow, Cambridgeshire - Best Country / Rural Pub
The Bellflower, Garstang, Lancashire – Best Pub for Dogs
The Saddle Inn, Chester, Cheshire – Best Pub for Entertainment
Ye Olde Bridge Inn, Oxton, Nottinghamshire – Best Pub for Families
The Shibden Mill, Halifax, West Yorkshire – Best Pub for Food
Tamworth Tap, Tamworth, Staffordshire – Best Pub Garden
The Famous Three Kings, Fulham, London – Best Pub to Watch Sport
The Riverside at Aymestrey, Herefordshire – Best Sustainable Pub
The Lion in Treorchy, Wales – Community Hero
The Greene Oak, Windsor, Berkshire – Greene King Pub of the Year
The Gun Inn, Findon, West Sussex – Marston’s Pub of the Year
The Red Lion, Guildford, Surrey – Punch Pub of the Year
The Red Lion, Shepperton, Surrey – Star Pub of the Year
The Old Windmill, Coventry, West Midlands – Stonegate Pub of the Year
Natalie Coleman, the Oyster Shed, City of London – Best Pub Chef
Tiffany Long, the White Hart Freehouse, Ashill, Norfolk – Best Young Pub Chef
The Gun Inn, Findon, West Sussex – Great British Pub of the Year
