Pressure to reopen boaters' pub

WITH a very bad winter and little boat traffic, the landlord at the Nag's Head at Abingdon by the side of the Thames put up the shutters in January, but boaters want it open again.

Locals too, and now the local council are asking the brewery, Punch Taverns, to reopen the popular riverside pub, that the then landlord left due to poor winter trading and high rent of £2,000 a week.

Terrible shame

Johanne Green, spokesman for the Oxford branch of the Campaign for Real Ale, complained:

"It is a terrible shame. It is the first thing you see as you go over the bridge. It is a wonderful spot in weather like this. I am sure another pub company might be interested in taking it over if possible, and that would be great."

Selling 3,000 pubs

Punch Taverns announced in March that it was selling 3,000 of its pubs to tackle its £3bn debt. But of course, there is little interest.

In addition to boaters who moor in the town, Salter's Steamers also moored there, to allow its customers to use the pub.  But there is little chance of it reopening, with three other pubs in the town also closed.