One of Nottinghamshire's most traditional pubs has no televisions, music or arcade games - yet it remains a destination for people to travel to from all over the county. The Martin's Arms, located in Colston Bassett, is a popular, award-winning pub known for its period furnishings and floral arrangements.
The pub has been run by the current owners for more than 30 years. Manager of The Martin's Arms, Sue Hill, said: "The price of the houses kind of dictates our clientele but we are a destination pub as well for people all over the county.
"There are no televisions, no music, no arcade games. It's a proper pub restaurant.
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"We are grade II-listed and have an acre of garden that is enclosed. We do have standards that we stick to."
She added: "It's a nice village and the locals do use us and we have parties here." Colston Bassett was recently named one of the poshest villages in Britain for the second year in a row after placing in the Telegraph's 54 Poshest Villages in Britain 2022 list.
The average house price is £786,955 but many residents don't feel their village is that posh, and that it's a few large extravagant houses that bring up the average price for the village, which is well known for its blue cheeses from Colston Bassett Dairy.
CEO of Colston Bassett Dairy, Billy Kevan, said: "There are of course obvious differences when living in a village when comparing it to towns or cities, less population, less traffic, less noise, therefore pollution and generally a slower pace of life - Colston Bassett village is no exception. Situated in a conservation area just on the edge of the village, Colston Bassett Dairy has always worked closely with the parish to ensure we fit into their ethos.
"Local dairy farmers that are members of our co-operative supply milk required to make our famous Blue Stilton, this has been the case since 1913. Having lived in the village for a number of years it was clear that this quintessential village was definitely not pretentious, the villagers are welcoming and the local pub has a well-founded reputation for excellent food."
When asked if it was surprising that the village was on the posh list, a 61-year-old resident in the village, who did not wish to be named, said: "Yeah I suppose it is really as it doesn't really seem posh. I think it is because we have a couple of houses that are really expensive and that then pushes everyone else's house prices up."
Speaking of the village itself, she continued: "It's very nice but there are no shops. The pub is nice and the school I don't know as we don't use those anymore, it's just really quiet here."
A retired 70 year old who has lived in the village for more than a decade said: "It's obviously very nice to live here, it's a quaint estate village. It's perfect really.
"I can understand why people would want to live here. The school is very good, there are no shops although there used to be." He added that there was also a really "good" pub in the village, and the rural location means he can enjoy countryside walks close to home."
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