A pub in Horncliffe, near Berwick upon Tweed, has opened a community café to combat loneliness and isolation, with help from Pub is the Hub.
Licensees Kasia Kozik and John Graham celebrate the opening of the community café
The café, at the Fishers Arms, came about with expert help and a Community Services Fund grant from Pub is The Hub.
The big need for the community café was recognised as the area is poorly served by public transport and has few other services.
The village had already lost its shop, post office, school, and church, with the pub being its last amenity. The area also has a higher-than-average number of both over-65s and unpaid carers, who are also benefiting from having somewhere to meet and socialise.
The Fishers Arms has been at the heart of Horncliffe since 1760 and was saved from closure in July 2022 when shareholders and members of the local community purchased the pub. Kasia Kozik and John Graham started running it in March this year.
Moira Kay, a member of the pub’s committee, said: “The community has really rallied round to support the opening of the pub and the café. The café is providing an important space where people can get together for a chat or take part in an activity, which helps to connect them with others and can help people who might feel isolated or lonely.”
Kasia added: “We welcome you all to visit the Fishers Arms, which is already seeing a wide range of local people use the pub for a variety of reasons and occasions. It is so important that this pub serves everyone in the local area. The community café offers a safe, relaxed space where groups and individual people can meet. It is a great place for people to come together.”
Nigel Williams, regional advisor for Pub is The Hub, said: “This is a pub that is at the heart of its local area. This brilliant community café has already proved to be a lifeline for those living in this isolated rural area that has already lost so much of its local services.”
