It’s Back To The Future For Barman, Hamish…

A barman, who pulled his first pint at Britain’s highest pub more than 40 years ago, is celebrating after being given a new role at the iconic inn.

Hamish Bell, from Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, was just a child when his father first took him to the Tan Hill Inn, 11 miles away, in Swaledale, following a walk across the moors.

“A stop at the Tan Hill always meant a packet of crisps and lemonade or a small glass of very weak shandy when we were older,” he said, “and to my brother and I, it was the highlight of the walk.

“The then landlord and author Neil Hanson invited me to pull a pint for my dad – which I thought was brilliant at the time.”

Years later, after spending a few years travelling, Hamish returned to the Tan Hill and has worked there on and off, as cellarman, barman, front of house “and just about everything really,” ever since.

But now he has been given a new task, as archivist and historian for the current pub, which dates to the early 17th century and sits on the site of an earlier pub, the King’s Pit, in a landscape whose history spans more than 2000 years.

Sitting in an isolated spot on the moors, 1732ft above sea level, the Tan Hill has found fame over the years, not only for being the highest pub in Britain, but having appeared in a variety of TV shows and films.

Now, 55-year-old Hamish is digging even further back in time to uncover the stone-built building’s history.

Current owner Andrew Hields bought the pub in 2018 and has since invested 750k, largely on infrastructure, to ensure the Tan Hill continues to welcome visitors for the next 300 years.

He refurbished the pub’s nine bedrooms – many of which are dog friendly – and also tastefully updated the barn for use as a wedding venue – the Tan Hill being the first pub in the country to obtain a licence to hold weddings, when laws changed in 1995.

“And I think the secret to its success is that it hasn’t been gentrified or changed too much,” said Hamish.