The Queen Victoria Inn, located at Mendip Hills in Somerset, has gained a reputation for being “Britain’s most festive pub” because of the owner’s penchant to create garish and festive makeovers every year.
This time, the pub has been converted into “The Gingerbread Inn” featuring a magical array of 60,000 fairy lights and one giant 22-foot snowman composed of beer bottles. The whole design was inspired by the children’s story Hansel and Gretel.
Watch the video of the festive pub below.
[rumble video_id=v5vpr5 domain_id=u7nb2]
Video credit: Rumble
Four people worked tirelessly for eight days to make sure the exterior walls were covered in gingerbread men, candy canes, sweets, and 60,000 fairy lights that needed 5 km of wiring.
The festive makeovers were started by Mark Walton, 52, four years ago to help the Children’s Hospice South West charity.
The one addition this year was the giant snowman that needed 2,500 empty beer bottles to construct.
Walton said: “It’s good for business and the charity does very well out of it. Seeing the photos is one thing but it’s hard to comprehend the size of it until you’re actually here.
“It’s quite a sight and it’s worth all of the hard work.”
The lights are so elaborate that they set up a separate circuit board that is separate from the pub’s electricity supply.
Since first starting in 2016, each year’s display has grown in size and this year is the biggest ever and the inn has become the talk of the town. In fact, the pub gets so busy in December that he no longer accepts bookings for the whole month.
The 2019 festive period officially started on Sunday night with the lights being turned on and this will go on until early January.
There are two large buckets outside the pub for donations.
He said: “Traditionally we are a country pub in the middle of nowhere and people do travel a long way to see us.
“It is amazing to look at. I’ve known people travel up from Southampton and down from the midlands. When we did the switch-on it was great to see if all lit up for the first time. I was taken back because it is awesome.
“We have covered every inch of the pub and at this time of the year it does become the centerpiece of the village.”
If you want to visit the Queen Victoria Inn, they open at 12 pm, seven days a week.
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