Fun, games laughter and - a 'snow-in' at Britain's highest pub

'Do you want a shot?" asked Katy Sherrington from Durham, offering a tiny glass of a pink liquid. Nobody was going anywhere at this point, so it would be rude not to accept.

- Robyn Vinter

Last Saturday night at the Tan Hill Inn, Britain's highest pub, the snow was falling and the crowd of about 30 people inside knew they were probably stuck here for a couple of days.

Throughout the place, at the northern edge of North Yorkshire, drinks were flowing and friends were being made.

Weather warnings for snow were in place across much of the UK this week, and the Met Office advised the public to only make necessary journeys, with road closures, train and flight cancellations, and rural communities becoming cut off.

That is something the staff at the Tan Hill Inn, which is 528 metres above sea level, are used to. The pub has a history of what people call "snow-ins" - in 2021, 61 punters who had come to watch an Oasis tribute band were trapped for three days.

So the team were well prepared.

Their electric power comes from a generator and there is enough food for about a month, "but hopefully it won't come to that”, said Nicole Hayes, one of the bar staff.

Earlier in the evening, her colleague Elle Applegarth anxiously looked out the window, hoping it might still be possible to go home and see her dog.