FOODIES in Wiltshire are in for a treat at the weekend as a brand new pub and hotel opens in the idyllic surroundings of Bishopstone.

The Royal Oak, which for the past 10 years has been run by Helen Browning’s Organic, will now feature the addition of a 12-bedroom hotel.

Tim Finney, the brains behind the venture, is delighted at the prospect of opening to the public once all the last bits of renovation work are complete.

An excited Tim said: “I am thrilled to be opening this mini-hotel in Bishopstone. There are still a few creases to iron out, but I’d say we are about 90 per cent of the way there.

“I absolutely love it. Hospitality is in our blood and I feel we have really cracked it.”

Helen Browning’s Organic, located at Eastbrook Farm in Bishopstone, has been supplying meat to the people of Swindon since the mid-1980s.

The company has made a name for itself by successfully running The Royal Oak in Cues Lane, Bishopstone, and The Chop House in Wood Street, Old Town.

Throughout the past week, staff have allowed friends and family to stay in the hotel in a bid to make sure they get it just right before opening to the public.

Explaining his business philosophy, Tim said: “It has all been really good fun, and that’s the point. We are not just in business to make money, but also to have fun. There’s no point if it’s not fun.

“We will continue to serve an interesting menu, which changes from day to day, with all the best meats from the farm – good English food.”

Tim also wished to thank brewers Arkell’s for their continued support.

He said: “I owe a huge debt to Arkell’s. They have invested a lot of money in our business and we intend to pay them back by making this hotel a huge success.

“One of our main responsibilities as a business is to create as many jobs as possible. I have never understood why people think it’s important to reduce the numbers of jobs.

“We are quite a pioneering business – organic farming in the mid-1980s was a particularly radical thing to do. And we hope the hotel will bring jobs for a few more people in the village.”