Phil
I will spend most of my time in the bar, looking after the cellar, managing stock and distributing newspapers.When I am not working you will usually find me running or cycling in the local area, or walking our dog through the village.
Karen
I will spend most of my time managing the refurbishments, running our holiday cottage business and taking care of the paperwork and finances. I will also help out in the bar at weekends and at busy times.When I'm not working you will usually find me walking Fern or catching up with friends and family.
Fern
I will spend most of my time keeping watch to see what's going on. I will also meet and greet some of the visitors to our pub, especially the 4-legged ones.When I'm not working you will usually find me walking through the village and nearby hills, swimming in the river or snoozing in front of the fire.
About us
Phil and Karen Wilkinson are the new owners of The Star InnWe took over The Star Inn in August 2019 from Anne Dunn, who together with her late husband Robert, ran the pub for 46 years. We are now settling into Harbottle and wish Anne the very best of wishes for her retirement.
Although we have broad business experience, we are new to running a pub. We were both ready to do something different that we could do together, a lifestyle business we could build up. Born and raised in the North East, we left the area to work and live in Peterborough for 15 years, returning to Northumberland in 2015. We are proud to call Northumberland our home and enjoy country living and the great outdoors.
When we heard The Star was up for sale, we were interested. We could see its potential in a lovely area and wanted to do something special with it. As we looked into things in more detail, it was not about us buying any old pub, it was about us buying this pub. It has been quite a journey over the last 18 months to get us to this point but we are here now! Our aim is to keep the pub open as the development work can be done in phases - and we will try to minimise the disruption to our neighbours, although some will be inevitable. We need to find our feet and have a lot to learn but love the area and are very much looking forward to our next chapter living and working in Harbottle.
Thank you to everyone who has made us feel very welcome, and if you have not met us yet, do pop in and say hello!
Phil, Karen and Fern
