It's just a couple of miles off the M6, but the tiny village of Smallwood feels like it could be from another time, hidden away in pretty Cheshire countryside.
And now a historic village pub at the heart of this tranquil spot, near Sandbach in Cheshire, has unveiled a major transformation just in time for the Summer.
It's set to have big appeal to families too, as the new look includes a brilliant new wooden fort play area that is free for customers to use.
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The Bluebell Inn dates back to the 16th century and as such is something of a local landmark. Now the Pear Hospitality group, a family-run business who own the popular Pecks restaurant as well as The Wheatsheaf pub in Sandbach and Lion and Swan in Congleton, have given it a new lease of life with a major renovation.
The new look was unveiled this week, which includes a new layout inside the pub, as well as picturesque new beer garden complete with the new play area for kids.
Owner Jake Pear said it had been a particularly special project to work on, as he and his family all live in the Smallwood area.
He said: "Whenever we're looking for new sites we look for a building that excites us, where we have ideas to improve it, make it flow better or make certain areas work better than they are - that's what really excites us as a company to move forward with it.
"The Bluebell is a little bit special though because we are a family business and the entire family lives in Smallwood, we've always been locals at the Bluebell.
"It was a fantastic pub before we bought it and it's a fantastic pub now, I just like to think that we've emphasised some of its character, we've improved some of the areas that haven't worked so well in the past and turned it into a pub that we hope everyone is going to enjoy.
"Right from when we bought it we started planning straight away, we always knew there were a few priorities, number one was to keep the character and charm of the pub, everything we did was with that in mind.
"We always knew the front of the pub is where everyone gravitated to, it's where all the character and history was so we were very conscious not to mess that up, so everything was cosmetic in that part.
"But we also know that there were parts that didn't work so well, one of which were the toilets, we knew that entire area of the building was dead space. The other part we knew we needed to improve was the kitchens, operationally it didn't work well and it created a strange shaped restaurant."
The new look pub has incorporated a barn building that sits adjacent with a new link to the main building. It has enabled them to create an entirely new kitchen as well as new customer toilets too.
It's also the first time the group has had a pub with a beer garden of this size. They've used one area to transform into "Fort Smallwood" for younger visitors to really enjoy with their families.
Jake said: "We have a brilliant garden, and a fabulous play area for the kids. In the good weather this place was filled out at the weekend.
"We're in a rural area, our other sites tend to be in town centres, so it's a lot more chilled, a lot more relaxed and I think that aspect that people really enjoy."
The Pear Hospitality group have been growing their presence in South Cheshire in recent years, having taken on the iconic Pecks restaurant in nearby Brownlow Heath in 2008. They went on to buy the historic Wheatsheaf pub in Sandbach in 2016, and The Lion and Swan in Congleton in 2020.
The Bluebell was snapped up in 2023, and the group also recently announced they've bought the old Natwest bank in Sandbach, next to The Wheatsheaf, which they plan to use to extend their hotel and restaurant offering in the town.
Jake added: "The Bluebell is very different to any venue, it's not just our venues, it has its own charm. I was here on Friday night and the atmosphere was absolutely electric, and the reason is because of the locals in this area.
"In a big way, this is not our pub, we're simply here to look after it, it lives and breathes because of the people that come here and give us the atmosphere that you can't buy, that's just the greatness of Smallwood."
As for what's next for the pub, Jake says: "We're excited to see how it works with the seasons, it will be lovely to sit in here in the winter, get the log burners going.
"We can't wait to see how it adapts through the year and how people use it. The future for the Bluebell is exceptionally positive."
The Blubell Inn is on Spen Green on the corner of Bell Lane, Smallwood. It is around three miles from Junction 17 of the M6 at Sandbach. The postcode for sat nav is CW11 2XA.
