Yorkshire landlady bought pub in 'massive gamble' despite never setting foot in one before

Susan Beesley, owner of The Aldwark Arms
-Credit: (Image: Samuel Port)


A woman bought a Yorkshire pub despite never having setting foot in one before in 'a massive gamble' to give her children a 'better life'.

Susan Beesley, 48, runs The Aldwark Arms, in Aldwark, a small village between Boroughbridge and Easingwold, in the Vale of York, known for having the one of the only privately owned toll bridges in the country.

Hailing from Johannesburg, in South Africa, Susan had never been inside a pub before. She bought the pub with her partner Warren Taylor after growing sick and tired of the high levels of crime in South Africa.

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Susan said: “It's a massive gamble we took. We sold up everything we owned in our lives and we came here. Maybe we watch too many movies, it sounds lovely owning a beautiful country pub in the middle of England. We thought it sounded lovely. I don’t think either of us realised the workload. I had never been in a pub before.

“In South Africa, it’s very different. You might have restaurants or a sports bar but its not a massive thing. People generally go to people’s houses. It was a new culture to us completely.”

South African Susan says she's fallen in love with British pub culture
South African Susan says she's fallen in love with British pub culture since taking over the boozer -Credit:Samuel Port

The couple have run The Aldwark Arms since May 2021, after purchasing the premises in January 2020, just before Covid hit. They moved to Yorkshire with Susan’s two children, 24 and 21, who help behind the bar, and their eight-year-old daughter.

Susan said: "Another reason to come over was for our children, to give them a better life, so our daughter could get into university. That was one of the main drives."

They’d had no prior involvement in the pub or hospitality trade before jetting over. Susan worked in finance and Warren worked in sales, selling medical equipment. With the different financial laws in the UK, Susan said she didn’t want to attempt setting up a finance business in the Britain.

So, they looked at different avenues to go down when deciding how to make a living in England. They’d also considered petrol stations and convenience stores but those didn’t look worth the amount of money the couple were preparing to invest.

Susan showing off her quaint countryside pub in Aldwark
Susan showing off her quaint countryside pub in Aldwark -Credit:Samuel Port

The couple considered a range of pubs before settling on The Aldwark Arms, even bidding on another with the sale falling through. They’ve said the estate agent for the quaint countryside pub was particularly friendly and everything clicked together serendipitously with the sale, describing their predecessors as very patient. Nevertheless, the process was ‘stressful’, buying up a business she’d never visited and having the ‘confidence and trust’ in the previous owners

Two months after the sale, Covid-19 hit, and they had to put the process on hold for 18 months. Susan says this greatly added to the stress as her daughter was turning 18 at the time and it would affect her ancestral visa.

'Completely foreign'

Eventually, in 2021, Warren flew over ahead of Susan and the kids so the old owners could show him the ropes. Susan said the pub scene as a huge culture clash, having never even pulled a pint which she described as ‘completely foreign’ to her, especially pouring a pint of ale.

Susan Beesley who owns The Aldwark Arms
Susan said pouring a pint for the first time felt 'completely foreign' to her -Credit:Samuel Port

Susan said: “It’s quite thrilling to get used to. Being able to talk to everyone and everyone knows each other’s names. It’s lovely. It’s so social.

“In South Africa, you can be so closed off to strangers because of the crime. You don’t even talk to your neighbour. You live behind a six-foot wall and you don’t go into the street to walk, even. So, to come here, it took us a while to get used to the flow of how it was done.

“It was okay to be social with everyone, as no one was going to rob you! We were horrified that people would just leave their cell phones on the counter. I was like ‘oh my god, your phone could be stolen’. My staff would look at me like I was mad.”

Susan and Warren have been faced with their challenges. The most significant being when the Aldwark Toll Bridge had to close down 10 months for repairs, between April 2023 and February, this year. The bridge provides vital access west of the village, towards Boroughbridge, with the alternative roads resulting in a 25-mile round trip.

The entrance to Aldwark Toll Bridge with its current fees
The entrance to Aldwark Toll Bridge -Credit:Samuel Port

During this period, the pub experienced a ’40 percent’ decrease in trade and hasn’t recovered fully since. With this in mind, Susan is setting into motion alternative means of trade. “We’re looking at other avenues to help our business as a pub on its own in the current economy is very 50/50, at the moment,” said the South African landlady.

They have plans to: open six log cabins beside their terrace, overlooking Aldwark’s beautiful scenery to attract holiday-makers; launch their own line of biltong, a South African cuisine consisting of air-cured meat immersed in vinegar and spices; and advertise the pub as a wedding venue.

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