A VILLAGE pub in the shadow of Pendle Hill is set to take in guests for the first time as part of a £500,000 refurbishment project.

And bosses at the Seafood Pub Company are hopeful that their overhaul of the Barley Mow, in Barley, will prove as successful as their other East Lancashire ventures.

Similar revamps have turned around the fortunes of the Oyster and Otter in Blackburn, and The Assheton Arms, in nearby Downham.

Managing director Joycelyn Neve said that the company was aiming to give the Barley Mow a different outlook than the rest of its portfolio after taking on its fifth venue in less than three years.

She added: “It will be a village local for Pendle people and Pendle visitors, ideal for family meals and drinks with friends in an atmosphere of open fires and cosy corners.

“And those who have had a day in the great outdoors can kick off their boots, relax and work off their appetite with a menu of pub classics and on-trend food.”

Unlike its previous incarnations, the pub will start to offer overnight stays, with five rooms being offered for travelling tourists.

Other Lancashire hostelries under the firm’s wing include The Fenwick at Claughton, near Lancaster, and The Farmers Arms at Great Eccleston.

The Assheton Arms was named Lancashire Life’s ‘Dining Pub of the Year’ and the Oyster and Otter is now listed in the Good Food Guide, having earned a ‘Best Food Pub’ title in the Great British Pub Awards along the way to its accolade.

The Seafood Pub Company was set up in 2011 by Joycelyn and chef Antony Shirley.