When Miles Jessop first started pulling pints, Conservative Prime Minister Ted Heath was campaigning for Britain to join the European Economic Community and the price of beer was 16p.
Half a century later we’re out of Europe and you’ll be lucky to get change from £3 for a pint – but the legendary owner of the Scafell Hotel in Rosthwaite is still going strong.
Now, as he approaches his 80th birthday, and with an MBE already to his name, Miles has been honoured once again for his remarkable career at the helm of one of Cumbria’s best-loved rural hotels.
This week representatives from the West Cumbria branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) presented Miles with a special certificate commemorating his 50 years of service and his dedication to promoting real ale.
It’s a rare accolade, and indeed he is the only real ale publican in the branch territory to be eligible for the award.
And it comes at the end of what Miles describes as the most difficult and challenging two years since he first took over the Scafell Hotel in 1971.
“You think you’ve seen it all and then Covid comes along and suddenly you’re flying by the seat of your pants,” he said. “But I am extremely fortunate to have a fantastically loyal team working here who have pulled out all the stops to ensure that we came out of it in one piece.
“This award from CAMRA is a great honour, but it’s as much for them as it is for me.”
The Scafell has a history of long-serving owners. Prior to Miles taking over it had been run by the Badrock family for 47 years, and he still credits the hotel’s early success to being able to persuade the then manageress, Rietta Guthrie, to delay her retirement after 27 years behind the bar.
Since then he has overseen a number of major refurbishments, and welcomed celebrities including Hollywood actor Mel Gibson through the door. Sir Barnes Wallis, inventor of the “Bouncing Bomb,” was a regular guest at the hotel for more than 52 years.
Fittingly, however, Miles says the best business decision he ever made was turning his back on the big breweries. “Back in the early days, the likes of Scottish & Newcastle were trying to persuade everyone that the future was beer out of kegs – but I didn’t buy that for a minute. I have always stocked cask ales here, because that’s what people prefer, and I think I can say I have been proved right.”
Hugh Price from CAMRA said: “Miles was trading at the Scafell in 1971 when CAMRA was founded, and he has done an amazing job selling such a consistently great pint of beer in this popular traditional public bar for so many years.”
Unfortunately, plans for a party to celebrate the award have been put on hold until this later this year. “Our head chef Willie Davidson died just before Christmas, and Andrew Nelson – who has been managing director for over 25 years – has been suffering from ill-health lately, so the timing has not been ideal,” Miles said.
“But we will definitely be celebrating this achievement, and I’m looking forward to it.”
