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"I am not the only one to have a love affair with the romantic tale attached to this pub. Prince Charles has visited the hostelry no less than three times. During a recent 2 hour visit he enjoyed the excellent brews which are created behind the pub in the Hesket Newmarket Brewery and won a game of darts.

The Old Crown and Hesket Newmarket Brewery are owned by a co-operative consisting of villagers. It is a great success story in times where local services are under pressure from closure or being swallowed up by large national companies and losing their local character. The landlord amusingly compared their pub with the one down the road in Caldbeck by saying "we are a pub which happens to sell food, where as they are a restaurant who happen to sell beer". This I can say is an apt description. The beer is excellent; a selection traditionally brewed beers from blondes to porters. I enjoy a good beer, don't care much for townie pubs owned by multinational Interbrew businesses. The Crown as far from that as you can get, and I like it. Well worth a big deviation and with royal approval too.

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