AN historic pub in Brightlingsea has been named as the best in the district by beer lovers.

Members of the Tendring branch of the Campaign for Real Ale have picked the Railway Tavern, in Station Road, as their pub of the year.

Alex and Sarah Capon bought the Railway Tavern in 2018 and completed an overhaul of the popular watering hole earlier this year.

The free house has a new bar and the garden has also been given a spruce up.

Landlady Sarah Capon said: “The award is a huge achievement for my husband Alex and I as we bought a freehold public house in April 2018, a time where a vast majority of pubs were and still are closing down.

“We came in to the business completely clueless but were willing to do whatever it took to make it work.

“The Railway Tavern has always had a fantastic reputation for its real ales and we really wanted to keep that tradition going, especially for its loyal customers.

“We try our hardest to only use small, local breweries.”

“They need our support as much as we need theirs plus they produce some beautiful, award winning ales too.

“We have now completed a whole building refurbishment and we know that was taken in to account when we won this award.

“This really is the icing on the cake for us.

“We are absolutely thrilled and want to thank Tendring Camra.”

The pub supports the Campaign for Real Ale and usually runs a range of events throughout the year.

The Railway Tavern was originally built as a hotel in 1865 to service the railway and has been operating as a pub for many years.

The pub was told it won the prize earlier this year, but due to Covid-19 it has only just been presented with its award.