Opening hours over Christmas

Festive greetings to all - and a chance to update you on our plans now the tier announcements have been made in the run up to (and after) Christmas.

So we heard today we are staying in tier two until at least 30 December, when the next review takes place. This has enabled us to make some decisions in the final run up to, and days between, Christmas and New Year. We are also making some tentative New Year's Eve plans, in the hope our tier status remains at two or below by the 31 December.

Tier two has been tough, we won't sugar coat it! The rule of no mixed households, making you unable to visit with friends, coupled with the need for a substantial meal if you want to enjoy a drink has taken its toll. We also completely understand that many will be choosing to limit their socialisation over these last weeks of 2020 to protect against picking up the virus and de-railing those all important Christmas plans, where you may have the chance to see family for the first time in a long time. All these factors have led us to being quieter than ever in December, although not so quiet we have had to shut the doors completely and another huge thank you to everyone who has been to see us, collected a takeaway or popped a card through the door to let us know you are all well!

Going forwards, we are also aware that this Christmas is very much a small, family affair with the new bubbles you create between the 23 and 27 December. The regulations state that in those bubbles, you are not able to come together in any indoor setting other than your homes. We have therefore decided the following in terms of opening over the next two weeks:

17 & 18 December open 6 to 11pm

19 December FULLY BOOKED for our Christmas carvery.

20 December OPEN BUT NO CARVERY we have made the tough choice to cancel our Sunday carvery until further notice next year due to low take up over the last couple of weeks. However, we will be open on Sunday from 12 noon to 4pm with two substantial meal options: our Boris Bangers/Burgers (£2) or a Roastie Roll (£5).

21 & 22 December CLOSED (as usual on Mondays and Tuesdays)

23 & 24 December OPEN 6pm to 11pm with some tables still available!

25 December to 29 December CLOSED again, a tough decision for us, as we'd usually be open for drinks on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, but with the requirement still in place for people to only have a drink with a substantial meal, we feel this just isn't feasible this year. We're also conscious the Christmas relaxation of rules ends on 27 December and so over this period, you are not able to visit us in your newly formed bubbles, so this will impact our ability to cover costs if we do open. So, instead, we have agreed to close and let our small team try and make the most of what will be a very different Christmas!

30 December OPEN 6pm to 11pm with tables still available.

Which brings us to New Year's Eve! What the regulations will be by then is still unpredictable, but our plan is to have a fun buffet-style meal & quiz evening, which you can enjoy with your household or usual bubble. We will have to close by 11pm as per the new legislation, so we plan to send you off home with a nice bottle of something fizzy on us, to see the New Year in with! More details to follow, but if you would like to join us, then please give us a call on 01805 938285 and we'll get you booked in.

It's certainly not going to be the Christmas we learned to love last year when we took over at The Bell. We will miss seeing you all on Christmas Day when we would normally enjoy a really fun few hours of pre-Christmas dinner drinks, raffles and general festive cheer. We will also miss the Boxing Day quiz, which was always a cracker! However, by making these choices we hope we have struck a balance of still being here when we think you'll want to come and visit and closing when we think you'll all be making the most of your plans at home this year. Whatever the case, we will still be here for you in 2021 and if we don't see you before, we wish you all a very restful and peaceful festive season :-)