A NORTH Cumbrian pub undergoing renovation will open next month.

The Crown and Thistle at Rockcliffe will be run by Jo and Richard Fenn, who used to be involved at the Black Lion at Durdar.

The couple said: "We have no official opening date yet but we can say that we will be opening the doors within the first few weeks of May."

"We are however now taking reservations from June 1 onwards."

Since getting the keys for the pub in January the pair have been busy carrying out a refurbishment.

And new turf for the beer garden was laid this week.

Prior to the Fenns taking over, the Crown & Thistle, which sits at the bottom of a dip at the entrance to the village, had been shut for about 13 months.

The Crown & Thistle is the only remaining pub in Rockcliffe. There used to be five pubs in the village.

It used to be an old coaching stop off point for travellers going to and from Scotland, as well as a favourite haunt of thieves and smugglers landing contraband arriving from Scotland and Ireland.