ONE of the Forest’s best-loved pubs, which has just been named ‘Pub of the Year’ for the whole of Gloucestershire, is up for sale.

Multi-award winning pub and restaurant The Farmers Boy in Longhope was put on the market this week, with a property firm advertising it as “a great opportunity” for someone to take over “an established business where key ingredients will remain”.

Its owner Phil Kiernan has been at the pub, which has become famous for its award-winning pies, for more than 20 years, with the business having seen huge success in that time.

Just last month it was named ‘Pub of the Year’ for the whole of the county in the inaugural Gloucestershire Foodie Awards, at a ceremony held at Blackfriers in Gloucester.

And preceding that, the pub and Head Chef Richard Bodger picked up yet another accolade at the annual British Pie Awards in Melton Mowbray.

It brought their total of British Pie Awards to a staggering 45 over the last decade.

Last year, Richard was asked to make a special pie to be sent to Her Majesty The Queen by the county of Gloucestershire, as per tradition, for her Platinum Jubillee celebrations in June.

There’s a chance that honour may come again this year, with the tradition also being for the county to send a pie upon the coronation of a new monarch.

It has also been voted in the top 10 per cent by TripAdvisor for the best hotels and inns, and has picked up many more accolades for being the Forest’s best pub, restaurant and business.

Mr Kiernan said back in November that the business had done well to overcome a host of challenges in the last few years, including Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and a six-month closure of the A40, which runs past the pub.

He said the closure, which was lifted in February much to the relief of local businesses, had cost the Farmers Boy around £3,000 a week in passing trade, with no compensation or business rates relief available to them.

He says he made the decision to sell the pub because his work as a property developer over the last few years means he’s no longer able to give 100 per cent of his time to running it.

He also said that after 23 years, he feels “it’s the right time to exit”.

Chris Irving, Divisional Director of Fleurets West & South Wales, which is overseeing the sale, said of the business: “This is a great opportunity for an experienced operator to take over an established business where the key ingredients will remain.

“It has won a plethora of awards, included being cited in the best 10 per cent of hotels in the world on TripAdvisor, which is a real testament to how successful the operation is.

“The Farmers Boy is food focused, but there is further opportunity to develop other aspects of the business.”

Believed to date back to the 17th century, Fleurets says the property has been “significantly improved” and modernised over the years to provide “a modern refurbished public house catering for the needs of the 21st century.” It is on the market for £850,000.

More information can be found here.