Drinks are flowing again at a pub in Alton with the past and present firmly in the mind of its new landlady.

The George reopened last Friday following a six-month closure with experienced publican Carol Baker now in charge of the watering hole on Butts Road.

While Carol is used to rolling out the barrel with more than 30 years of experience in the trade, The George is the first pub in Alton to have her name above the door.

With competition fierce at the western end of the High Street she’s keen to make the hostelry a family-friendly pub with a focus on tradition, homely food and fun.

She said: “My director asked me if I would reopen The George and I said yes, as Alton is a really nice market town and this is quite a historical pub.

“The locals are friendly and they’re happy it’s open again.

“We’re going with the more traditional pub vibe, so there’s real ales on tap and we’re going to have Sunday roasts, steak nights, two-for-one main meals on Tuesdays, things like that for starters.

“So Sundays there will homemade roasts and then a meat raffle and quiz, but we’ve got lots of different things coming up which should interest people.”

The pub has been given a little bit of a tidy-up since the doors closed early this year while one of the biggest changes is the beer garden, with the strimmer going into overdrive after months of neglect and growth.

And there’s more planned for the community, with a uniform swap shop this Saturday (August 23) and CAMRA members getting a ten per cent reduction on the price of cask ale bevvies.

She added: “We’ve given the place a little tidy up and love – we’re looking for forward to serving more people.”