As many country pubs close-down across the UK, the Goose & Cuckoo in Upper Llanover, is not only surviving but is going from strength to strength.
Run and owned by friends Susan Finch and Rhiannon Chandler and Rhiannon’s son Morgan, Gwent CAMRA’s Country pub of the year 2018, has built up a reputation as a champion of local independent breweries and distilleries and live music.
Boasting breath-taking views of the Usk Valley, the Goose regularly hosts gigs, open mic nights, a book club and family events, including two annual beer and music festivals.
The pub’s next music and beer festival – Goose Stock 2018, on Sunday 26th August, features four live bands, a hog roast and barbecue and a selection of guest ales. Last year’s event attracted more than 600 people who sunk over 2,000 pints.
Despite its remote location, it’s not just music fans who find their way to the Goose. The pub sits alongside an old track used by lime kiln workers from Cwmavon and Blaenavon. Many regulars still follow the track to visit the Goose and it is also a regular haunt for those mooring narrowboats on the Brecon and Monmouthshire Canal a mile down the road. In fact, the pub recently featured on Channel 4’s Great Canal Journeys, after it hosted the stars of the series – Timothy West and Prunella Scales.
With a wealth of walking and cycling routes close to the pub, the Goose is also popular with hikers and cyclists, many of whom take advantage of the home-cooked menu and dog-friendly accommodation.
One of the oldest rural pubs in Wales, the earliest record of the Goose dates back to 1874. It was the only pub in Llanover to survive the Temperance Movement purge of pubs in the area championed by Lady Llanover in the late 19th century, because it was located just outside her estate.
Over a century later it is still going strong. To keep up to date with what’s on at the Goose, follow their Facebook page or visit their website: thegooseandcuckoo.co.uk
