More than 60 people trapped in a snow-bound pub for three days – with an Oasis tribute act for entertainment – are finally starting to leave.
On Friday, heavy snowfall during Storm Arwen meant dozens of customers at the Tan Hill Inn in the Yorkshire Dales could not get home.
A snow plough managed to get through to the highest pub in the UK on Monday morning – but some may be disappointed about having to depart.
Many have been sleeping on makeshift beds and mattresses on the floor, but they have been treated to films on a projector screen, a quiz night and a buffet meal amongst other comforts.
Oasis covers band Noasis has been providing musical entertainment as the musicians have been stranded since their gig on Friday at the pub – which at 1,732 feet (528m) above sea level.
An Oasis tribute band are among those trapped at Britain’s highest pub, the Tan Hill Inn, in the Yorkshire Dales due to heavy snowfall. ?️
Manager Nicola Townsend tells #BBCBreakfast how they’ve been keeping spirits up. ?https://t.co/arwR46F0Ydpic.twitter.com/VIAswM9a3b
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) November 29, 2021
The pub’s general manager, Nicola Townsend, 51, said: “It’s just been lovely and everyone is in really good spirits… it’s a really good atmosphere.
“They’ve formed quite a friendship… like a big family is the best way I can describe it.
“One lady actually said ‘I don’t want to leave’.”
On Saturday evening, guests thanked the seven members of staff stuck inside with them by presenting them with a jar filled with around £300 in cash.
On Sunday, the pub laid on a traditional lunch before guests and staff work together to decorate the bar for Christmas and prepare for an evening of karaoke.
Townsend, from Leyburn, said she feels many of those stranded – including herself – will stay in touch long after they have been freed.
Martin Overton, 44, travelled to the pub on Friday to watch Noasis and is staying in his campervan.
Overton, a BBC rugby league commentator, said: “I feel great… everyone is looking after each other.
“I have learned that when you come to the Tan Hill Inn, you need to take the forecast seriously.
“The place is very exposed… it is what makes it special but in future I will pack a few more warm clothes and a couple of shovels.”
Townsend said they first realised they were trapped after a blizzard on Friday.
“The blizzards were horrendous, how the snow was drifting, it was going all the way up to almost the bedroom windows,” she said.
A tunnel had been dug out of the front door of the pub, but nearby roads were not usable in part due to fallen power cables.
Townsend said mountain rescuers had made it through the snow to attend to one guest who required medical attention for an ongoing condition.
