Dog In A Doublet's John takes over village pub

The popular award-winning pub and restaurant with rooms, on the North Bank, near Thorney, closed unexpectedly in January with John, who ran the venue with wife Della, citing a breakdown in the relationship with the building's owners.

Downhearted, John decided to take some time out and is currently enjoying a well-earned rest after a decade in the kitchen and behind the bar of the former Peterborough Telegraph Pub of the Year and Restaurant of the Year.

But he has now revealed that he is taking the reins at 150-year-old village pub The Stag, in Wood Walton near Huntingdon.

Work is under way while John and Della enjoy their sabbatical, but the pub will be known as the Dog and Castle - a nod to their last place and the pub's original name, The Elephant and Castle.

Rooms are available currently, but John says he doesn't expect to expand on that until April.

"We have got a wicked team and we are going to do it slowly," says John, who expects the food offering to start with Sunday lunches before putting his own mark on a menus through the week

"I’m exited to get back to a village pub setting," said John, who had The Anchor in Wimblington before the Dog In A Doublet. "And I’m excited to use all the lessons learned at Dog In A Doublet to create the Castle. I feel like everything has been leading to this!"