CAMRA has championed support for cask ale drinkers and pubs since it was founded in the 1970s, with specific initiatives introduced to help protect local pubs, e.g. Assets of Community Value (ACVs). Members know how important the local pub is to its community. It goes beyond just being a place where you buy a pint, it plays an intrinsic role in the life and social fabric of the area.
It’s therefore not surprising that the efforts of the team at the Boat & Horses in Beeston Rylands has been recognised with a string of awards for their community work.
The pub was taken on by former customers, couples Neil & Debbie Fowkes and Martin & Jackie Henson, in 2023 when it was definitely struggling.
They made the commitment to create an inclusive sociable hub dedicated to serving the community. Through their passion and hard work, they have organised various themed events, music nights, fundraising activity and dedicated support of local groups.
They made a significant investment to improve the venue, including the beautifully maintained garden area, and along with an exceptionally well-run bar offering a good selection of cask and keg beers, the pub has transformed itself under their stewardship. The Chip Shop van on a Friday evening is a firm favourite with the locals.
One high profile visitor in early January attracted a lot of social media coverage and even featured on the BBC News website. Ross Kemp visited the pub as part of the “Rate your Pint” competition and the pubs award in the Heineken Top Quality Smart Dispense Pint. He definitely enjoyed himself as you can see from his own social media site!
In July the pub then achieved a Recognition Award for “Outstanding contribution to the local Community” from Heineken-owned Star Pubs.
This award recognised all the community activity they have supported and specifically their fundraising on behalf of Forces in the Community and Forever Stars, which in the last 18 months totals over £30,000.
Following this, Star Pubs then nominated them for their national “Best Pub” category as the representative for the East Midlands and North of England regions at the Great British Pub Awards in September.
There is an excellent article in the Beestonian, that highlights the numerous events and fundraising activity that the team have supported that influenced their nomination, so we’ll not repeat things and you can click here to read the full details:
A Star of a Pub
As Neil and Martin are both ex-forces, Army and Royal Navy respectively, one of their support activities focused on Veterans, with specific emphasis on helping with their physical and mental health wellbeing. We featured an article on our site in August 2024 highlighting their work, please click on this link for more details:
“Supporting our Veterans”
After studying 1 day a week for 4 years, Neil has secured a Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling qualification, with specialism in Veteran PTSD support.
Following this achievement and in recognition of his dedication and commitment to the Armed Forces Community, Neil was presented with a Community Award at the Boots and Beret 2025 Awards event organised by Nottinghamshire County Council in September, pictured with the uniquely designed trophy.
An article was published on the Council website, so please click on the link below for more details of the awards and all the category winners:
Boots & Beret 2025 Awards
Having earlier referenced their nomination for the Great British Pub Awards, the gala event was held at the First Direct Bank Arena in Leeds on the 24th of September.
Whilst they didn’t win the overall award, it went to the Black Pug in Warwick, the team and a few regulars had a great night, a selection of images from the event have been included below. For more detail on the awards, click on the link above.
And to round off a very successful 2025 for the pub, they’ve been nominated for a “People’s Choice Award”, one of the Beeston and District Civic Society Design Awards categories.
This category focuses on “celebrate and support new high-quality buildings, public spaces or developments in our area that you feel have made a positive impact on the community’s appearance and our quality of life”
The award event will take place on the 19th of November and we wish them every success for it! You can check out all of the categories and nominations from the link above.
We’re sure Neil, Debbie, Martin & Jackie will look back on 2025 as a year that they really put the Boat & Horses on the map and no doubt they’ll continue their great work in 2026.
We’d recommend all CAMRA members visit the pub and sample the friendly atmosphere and one of their 3 cask ales, the Ossett Blonde is always in excellent condition and at £3.80 a pint, it’s exceptional value for money!
You can follow the pub on their Facebook site – Boat & Horses
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