Black Swan is transformed (From Knutsford Guardian)

Black Swan is transformed

9:50am Tuesday 20th November 2012 in News By David Morgan

A REFURBISHED Lower Withington pub has undergone a six-month, £500,000 transformation, with its new owner hoping it becomes a community hub.

Sharon Bardsley now owns The Black Swan, in Trap Street, taking inspiration for it from sister establishment The Swan Hotel and Spa at Newby Bridge, Cumbria.

Sharon is delighted with the pub’s transformation and hopes it can become a meeting place the entire community can be proud of.

She said: “We wanted to make it a proper community hub. We’ve been absolutely giddy about the re-opening and it has been a rollercoaster.

“But it’s great because it’s our local pub and we wanted to bring the pub back to the community.”

The refurbished pub offers outdoor facilities including a sun-terrace, picnic tables, a French boules area, festoon lighting and a wood-fired pizza oven.

The interior boasts log burning fires, oak beams, traditional and modern decor and a backdrop of antiques and wall hangings.

The menu focuses on using Cheshire produce, including ‘Mucky Duck’ ale brewed in Macclesfield, meat supplied by traditional butchers S & D Kirk and milk from Cloudview Dairy in Congleton.

Sharon added: “With the food, it was important that it’s really good stuff, not just because it’s local.

“But it is great that it is, as we wanted to use fresh, lovely food, like the butcher’s burgers, which are fantastic.

“We even have a farmer that lives near the pub who delivers potatoes in a wheelbarrow.”

The pub’s rural location is also an attraction for cyclists, ramblers, walking enthusiasts and horse-riders, with a range of tethering rails installed to safely leave horses.

• For more information or to make a reservation visit www.blackswancheshire.com or call 01477 571770.