A HEREFORDSHIRE pub has opened its doors to customers after eight years of closure.

After half a million pounds of refurbishment, The Swan at Letton, on the A438 Brecon Road, reopened this month under new owners Luke Conod, who owns shops in Hereford such as The School Uniform Shop and FIT Menswear, and Byron Campbell.

“The locals seem to be loving what we have done with the place," said Mr Conod.

“The Swan had been closed for over 8 years so we had a lot of cobwebs to get rid of before we could start work, many of them looked like they had been here since it originally opened 400 years ago!”

Read more: Rural Herefordshire pub set to reopen after eight-year closure

The country pub with rooms has opened again in a full-on Christmas mode. Tones of mulled wine and Christmas fir tree fill the air and the sound of crackling of logs in the wood burning stove gives it the welcoming feel of that traditional family Christmas.

“The old building has been tastefully refurbished to keep its 17th century coaching inn character but with a unique and unusual twist of mixing old upcycled wooden chairs with contemporary new tables, designed and made by a young up and coming local craftsman," Mr Conod said.

“You’d think that it wouldn’t work, but it just does, and seamlessly.”

While the Swan Inn is very much proving to be a sorely missed living room space and meeting place for the local community, Luke and business partner Byron Campbell are also doing their bit to encourage visitors back to the county to stay in one of their five sumptuously furnished lettings rooms. Pitches for touring caravans and tents will be open from Easter next year.