The Barge Inn Honey Street
What can I say ?
I, like so many on life’s long and winding journey
have unwittingly stumbled through it’s doors to realise
that you have just discovered something special.
What that something is – is another question !
( From - thro the eyes of a clown – Thanks to Mad Pete Professional Clown – Honey Street)
This website attempts to describe our Community Project for The Barge Inn a long journey of hard work and dedication by a small working group tasked by the local community to save and develop the community hub and pub that is THE BARGE INN.
The business plan for its success has been produced and is owned by this project team of local people who have been really motivated with the help of The BIG Lottery Village SOS Programme. ( a partnership between the Big Lottery and the BBC)
The ambition soon to be realised is -
“To lease and operate the historic and internationally recognised Barge Inn as a profitable enterprise and to use those profits to create and develop a range of complimentary community enterprises
More specifically the aims are :
- To purchase the lease of the Barge Inn and the camp site at Honey Street
- To improve the facilities of the pub and the camp site to act as a successful community enterprise
- To provide a shop that serves the camp site, local people, campers, walkers and boaters
- To provide new local employment and training opportunities for people of all physical abilities
- To cater for the needs of different sections of the local community including young parents with children, the retired, young people and the under or unemployed
- To provide an outlet for the talents of local craftspeople and artists, and a community meeting space
- To use the best energy saving technology available
- To provide quality overnight accommodation including B&B letting rooms in the pub, camping and possibly a camping yurt
- To make a contribution to the development of the local tourism economy based on the canal, countryside walking, cycling and the crop circles phenomena within a developed Visitor Management Strategy.
- To provide opportunities for training and volunteering
The project will provide a community focus for the surrounding local villages of Alton Barnes, Alton Priors, Honey Street, Woodborough, Bottlesford, Wilcot and Stanton St Bernard (sometimes known as the ‘seven villages’). through providing a community pub bed and breakfast and camp site, a village shop and a community meeting space. The present Barge Inn will be renovated and the two wooden barns adjacent to the pub are to be renovated by the landlord.
The Barge Inn will provide an ever expanding focus for the crop circle enthusiasts – the phenomenon which is centred on this area of Wiltshire and has received so much media attention over the years. It will also continue to provide an important feeding, drinking and overnight stop for many users of the Kennet and Avon canal.
Claire Perry local MP visits project and meets team and representitives from the Big Lottery