'I took over an idyllic Staffordshire village pub after being made redundant from my engineering job - when one door closes another opens'

It can be through being based near a busy population centre, being the first or last stop into a town or city or, in the case of the Boat Inn in Gnosall, being set in an idyllic countryside setting.

The pub is set on Quarry Lane in the village on the Staffordshire and Shropshire border and looks out over the Shropshire Union Canal and miles of rolling countryside on Bridge 34 of the canal.

It was originally a horse staging post for fly-boats on the Shropshire Union canal, with Mary Roscoe in 1896 and John Roscoe in 1900 recorded as licensees and brewers at the pub.

Now owned and run by Marston's, the Boat Inn is managed by landlord Jake Greenaway, who took over the management of the pub in March after making the decision to go into the pub trade after being made redundant from his previous role.

He said: "I'm originally from Cannock and my life snowballed a little bit last September when I was made redundant from my job as a quality engineering welding inspector.

"I started working at a pub down the road because I knew the woman who was taking it over, but their deal fell through, so I started working here for the previous tenants as they offered me the flat above, and then from there, when they couldn't keep it on anymore, I took over from them.

"I've always been quite a social person and I worked at Wetherspoon's when I was 16, so I much prefer the customer facing role, rather than being behind a telephone or an email address."

Mr Greenaway said he felt the Boat was a really nice pub which was off the beaten track and could be a good stopping point for walkers and boaters on the canal, as well as also being lovely in the summer due to the garden and patio overlooking the canal.

He said: "Spring and summer, you've got all the boat trade that comes in and, of course, you've got the people in the village.

"I haven't had to do a lot when it comes to the day to day running of the pub, but one thing I think I do well is run it as an actual pub, not a gastropub, so it's very 50/50 with drinking and food.

"It's a pub that I think does good food that's not absolutely astronomical and if you want to come in, sit at the bar and have a drink with your mates, then you can and I think we've created something where you get a warm welcome and a friendly environment as well."

Being a Marston's pub, the Boat has beers from its range on hand pulls, with Wainwrights, Courage Directors and Banks's Amber Bitter all a feature of the real ale selection, while other drinks on tap include Carling, Inches Cider, Guinness, Stella, Tetley's and San Miguel.

There is also a decent spirit selection, with lots of different flavours of gins and vodka, as well as Aperol and Pimms for the summer months and a few whiskies behind the bar as well.

As mentioned by Mr Greenaway, the Boat Inn is also well loved for its food, with a selection of pub grub available, from lasagne to gammon to steak and steak and ale pies, as well as a very popular Sunday roast.

He said the Boat had become his life and he counted himself as lucky to be able to make a change in his life and find a career he really loved.

He said: "It's a massive part of my life and when I think about my life and the journey I've been on, it very much follows the phrase 'when one door closes, another opens'.

"It's very much been that since I left my previous job as it's been finding open doors, so moving from quality engineering to this has been a refreshing change and is something I'm good at and want to make work."