Northamptonshire village pub reopens today as new landlady blows away the cobwebs at historic 17th century watering hole

The historic Queen’s Head in Bulwick has been shut for nearly 18 months, but now Danielle Haynes is breathing new life into the building as she prepares to serve her first customer this evening (Saturday, November 30).

Danielle, whose sister Samantha will be the pub’s chef, has many years of experience running country pubs around Northamptonshire.

She said: “We were looking around at pubs for a while waiting for the right one to come up and then my friends messaged me back in October to tell me about this place.

"We came over and had a look through the windows and we thought it looked great.

"I’ve been working for someone else in a pub since November and although I enjoyed it, I really wanted to run my own pub again.”

Danielle’s family have helped her to get the building ship-shape again and looking wonderful in time for tonight’s opening at 5pm. There will be a free buffet at 7pm and entertainment from Katie Rose Parker at 8pm.

The Bulwick Estate-owned pub, which sits in Main Street opposite the village church, will also become home for Danielle and her children, Bobbi, 12, and George, 10, once the business is up-and-running.

Originally from Kettering, Danielle says that many locals have already popped their heads into the beautiful building to wish her luck.

"Thankfully it was in good condition,” she said. “We’ve had to put some paint on the walls and obviously it’s been a lot of work but overall it’s not been too huge a job. I’ve been so lucky to have the help from my family.

"My sister is a great chef so we know the food will be good and we just hope that people come along and support us.”

The pub is just four miles from Weldon and will serve traditional pub grub including home-made pies, curry, burgers, steaks as well as vegan and vegetarian options.

There’ll be a full carvery on Wednesday and Saturday evenings and between 12pm and 6pm on Sundays.

An outdoor seating area with a pizza oven will be fired up when the warmer weather arrives.

On draught are Kopparberg strawberry and lime cider, Stella Artois, Camden Pale, San Miguel and Guinness. There’s also a cocktail menu,

The pub will open every day apart from Mondays.

You can find out more on the pub’s Facebook page.