ABOUT THE PACK HORSE
The village got its pub back in 2023.
The Pack Horse stood empty from October 2021 until the end of August 2023, when Lesley Newitt took it on after almost a decade running the Bluebell in Helpston. It reopened on 31 August 2023, after a soft opening over the bank holiday weekend for people in the village who had been without a local for nearly two years.
Lesley put it plainly at the time: “We do not want to lose the village pub identity. We want to remain a pub where people can come to drink, but food will be a big part of what we do. It will be modern British food with pub classics.” That is still the deal.
THE PUB
Stone walls, a real fire and a big garden.
We are a stone-built, Grade II listed pub under a Collyweston slate roof at the junction of Lincoln Road and Church Street, opposite the manor. Inside it is a warren of small connected rooms with exposed stone and wooden floors, farmhouse tables, and an inglenook that dominates the main bar. The fire is real.
Out the front there is free parking. Out the back there is a big garden full of benches inside a painted picket fence, which is where most of the village ends up on a warm Sunday.
Read the history of the pub and the villageTHE FOOD
Cooked to order, mostly gluten free.
Modern British food and pub classics, cooked fresh to order, so please allow a little time for it to arrive. The kitchen uses locally sourced ingredients, some of them straight from our neighbours' gardens.
Most of the menu is gluten free as standard rather than as an afterthought. Only a handful of dishes contain gluten, and they are marked on the menu; on Sundays every roast is gluten free, including the Yorkshire puddings. If you have spent years being handed the laminated sheet with three things on it, you will know why we make a point of saying so.
Roasts are cooked on the day. When they are gone, they are gone.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME
Dogs, walkers, cyclists, bikers and the whole family.
Dogs
Blankets by the fire, water bowls down and a jar of treats behind the bar. All we ask is that leads stay on while you are on the premises.
More for dog ownersWalking groups
Pre-order lunch before you set off and it will be ready when you get back. Ring with your numbers and roughly when you expect to finish.
Walkers, cyclists and bikersCyclists
The Peterborough Green Wheel passes through Glinton and Etton, a few minutes' ride from our door, and there is space out front for bikes.
Plan a ride hereBikers
Motorbikes are as welcome as bicycles. Free parking out front, and a decent lunch when you get here.
Biker friendlyWalk with us
On Boxing Day we walk it off together: the village walk leaves the pub at 11am and is back for 12pm. A leisurely walk for all the family, and of course the dog!
See what's onPrivate dining
The restaurant can be hired if you would like the room to yourselves. Send us your numbers and a date.
Get in touchA WEEK AT THE PUB
There's always something going on.
Street food and the quiz on Tuesdays, coffee, cake and Knit and Natter on Wednesday mornings, fish and chips to take away on Fridays, and a roast followed by live music on Sundays. Add the monthly History Club and the odd theme night and there is not much of the week left.
See the full calendar- Fish & Chips TakeawayFRI 2 OCT
- Sunday Roast & Live MusicSUN 4 OCT
- Street Food & QuizTUE 6 OCT
- Coffee, Cake Knit and NatterWED 7 OCT
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
It's great to have our pub back.
★★★★★
4.4out of 5
from 320 Google reviews
★★★★★
4.8out of 5
Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice, 13 reviews
THE LANDLADY
Lesley Newitt
Lesley spent the best part of ten years building the Bluebell at Helpston into a pub people drove to, then took on The Pack Horse in 2023 because “it is just the sort of size that we were looking for”. If she is not behind the bar she is not far away.
Want to say hello? Ring, text or drop us a line.