A hidden gem pub in rural Cambridgeshire that closed four years ago is set to reopen with a new look and new owners.
The Golden Lion in Stonea has been taken over by March husband and wife Tony and Angela Demetriou.
Having lived in the town for 30 years, the London-born couple have spent the past year renovating the building.
Tony, who has given up his self-employed work to concentrate on the business, said: "When we popped down, we saw it was in a bit of a state, but there was something about it that we liked.
"We saw the potential - it just needed the funds and a lot of TLC."
He added that because it was down to bare brick, they have had to put everything inside - including central heating for the first time in the building's history.
"It's had a complete makeover," he said of the interior refresh which has also included separate boilers and electric systems.
Having spent more than £150,000, he describes the experience as "a challenge and an expense".
Nonetheless, the pair said they are "excited for our new adventure.
"It's one of those things that you just decide to do in life and see what happens," Tony said.
With a goal of opening for business at the beginning of December, Tony said the pub will be serving a weekend carvery to start with, as well as traditional pub lunches during the day.
"It had a good reputation from both sets of previous owners, who we have stayed in contact with for advice, so we are going to do our best to bring that back and keep it going," he said.
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Dependant on the level of demand, the couple would like to expand the carvery service to weekdays too.
While the interior makeover isn't yet completely finished, Tony said they are "95% there. It's just the paperwork and inspections that need to be done".
Though he recognises that such things take time, they are keen to benefit from pre-Christmas trade.
"I'm very excited and looking forward to it because it has been so long, he said, "but I'm also a little bit nervous because it's basically like starting again - and it's a lot of money to invest". "I'm expecting it to be a bit slow to start with," he added, "but we'll have to see what happens".
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