It took one beer and three days for Anne Free to buy the iconic Pub in the Paddock.
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She was in the area to visit the nearby St Columba Falls, and stopped in by chance.
“I always wanted a little pub,” Ms Free said.
“But I never knew that I would be coming here and be the cook, cleaner, gardener … the lot.”
Ms Free, a former casino and media worker, went on to be the pub’s licensee for 14 years.
Three years ago, she handed the reigns to her daughter, Rowena, who today runs the pub with partner Scott Cadyre.
It’s a cosy little inn, nestled in the valley half-way between St Helens and the North-East.
Since its licence was first granted in 1901, it’s had several notable names pass through its doors.
But the most notable characters have never set foot (or trotters) inside.
The pub is home to what could be the country’s only beer-drinking pigs – a quirk established several owners before Ms Free, about 25 years ago.
They’ve gone through a few resident swines now, and patrons are invited to feed them RSPCA-approved, low-alcohol beer.
The history of the pub runs deep. It used to be called St Columba Falls Hotel, after its close proximity to the natural attraction, but underwent a name change several decades ago.
“[The new name] originated from some guys from America, who stayed there and when they got home, they wanted to send the pub something,” Ms Free explained.
“They couldn’t remember the name, so they sent it to ‘the pub in the paddock’, and it caught on.”
The pub was originally built as a home for the Terry family, in the 1880s, who had 15 children.
Would they have envisaged, at the time, that the pub would one day be known for its ale-guzzling animals?
It was with the pub’s first owners that the tradition of female licensees began.
The husband passed away in 1911, but his wife took over the reigns and kept the pub doors open.
“There’s been quite a few female licensees over the years,” Ms Free said, citing herself and a couple of others of recent times.
Apart from the pigs, what keeps pulling patrons off the main road, and down to the little pub in the paddock?
“I think it’s the old, rustic charm that it still has,” Ms Free said.
“It’s not The Ritz, but it’s quality still.”