'We make this a place to be in the summer': The pub which shines brightest when weather is nice

The Boatyard in Bridgnorth is one of the most notable sights in a town full of great sights and views, sitting in a prime location on the edge of the River Severn, next to Bridgnorth Rugby Club.

Crossing over the Severn on the Bridge Street Bridge, the pub sits in leafy surroundings, with trees and foliage next to it and a clock tower on one side, standing out due to the white paint work and distinctive livery on the outside.

Inside, the pub carries plenty of reminders of the river, with boats and nautically-themed items around the bar area inside the pub, and also had a large garden patio which, on a nice day, provides a calming area to sit and watch the river flow by.

Owned by a private landlord, it went through several incarnations, including being an Italian restaurant and a shoe shop, and has been run by husband and wife team Hamid Zare and Joanna Pokarska-Zare for about 10 years.

Joanna Pokarska-Zare said the couple had taken on the pub as her husband had been looking for a new adventure, but had taken a bit of convincing.

She said: "Hamid was looking for his next adventure and we looked at the pub, but it had flooded and we weren't quite sure whether it was a good idea, but the previous owner convinced us that when the weather was sunny and nice, it was a great place to be.

"We also found that Bridgnorth was an absolutely lovely town as well, so that had a massive impact and after Hamid said we should try it, because we were looking for something different.

"We hadn't ever done a pub before, but it's been like our baby ever since."

Ms Pokarska-Zare said the pub had been a real learning experience for her and her husband, with attempts to run it as a summer bistro not working well, but found that it had become a very popular place when the weather was nice.

She said: "It's quite popular when the sun is out and people have told us that it's like being in Spain when it's like that, which I think is helped by the food and the drinks and the atmosphere and feels like you're on the beach.

"Of course, it's not always as good when the rain comes and we do have problems with flooding being next to the river, but in general, I do think it's a very nice place to stop by at.

"It can be challenging and we do have to control staffing levels as we don't always know how many people we can have in, but it's a place that can feel like the old style, traditional pub when you walk in."

The pub is very much a day drinking venue, with closing time usually around 6pm each day due to staffing levels and numbers of people coming in, something Ms Pokarska-Zare said was good for work life balance.

She said: "I think it is as Hamid works in the kitchen and we find that the staff and team are already very tired by the end of the day and while we would like to add another shift at times, it's very hard to judge as we are so weather dependent.

"We also only run in the Summer as we close down between November and March and usually open at Easter, which is better for us as we get the better weather and more people in."

The pub offers a smaller drink selection than most places, with no hand pull beers and keg-only drinks such as Shipyard, Carling, Peroni and Thatchers on tap, plus hot drinks, soft drinks and a selection of cocktails.

The food selection carries a bit of a twist as while there are burgers and pizzas on offer, there is also an Iranian twist on some of the food offers, all inspired by Iranian-born Hamid.

All of this makes the place one that the couple love and work hard to make it a place to be in the summer.

Ms Pokarska-Zare said: "It's a lovely place to go to in the summer and we put a lot of time and energy into this as I feel like it takes up our lives from Easter until September, so it's all about the Boatyard."