Tag: Devon

Is this Britain’s Most Eccentric Pub Landlord?

By Harry Ashcroft

November 28, 2024

The cosy interior of the Politimore Arms, featuring a pint of the only draught drink they have, an Exeter Ale. Note also the candle on the left-hand side.

Last month I made the six-hour, England-splitting semi-circular drive from Liverpool down to North Devon to celebrate my Grandma’s 80th birthday. On the second afternoon there, as a group of us traversed the narrow country lanes, a glowing sight welcomed us in from the bleak and windy Exmoor hills. A humble and simple exterior that didn’t accurately show off the storied saga waiting for us inside.

“Whatever it takes, we don’t care. The pub is never going to shut.”

— Steve Cotten, Landlord of the Poltimore Arms

The humble yet inviting exterior of the pub. The sign on the left reads “Frederick Albert Hitler and partner Stephen Cotten. Licensed to sell intoxicating liquor for consumption on or off the premises and insult customers.” The late Fred Hitler was Steve’s old cat.

The Poltimore Arms is unlike any pub I’ve ever been in. Firmly cash only, completely off the grid and run by candles, solar panels and water from the spring up the hill. Its most notable aspect, however, is its landlord, who, much to my surprise, is already quite famous, as Britain’s Grumpiest Landlord.

Steve Cotten and his pub have been featured in major news outlets across Britain over the last few years. He is a man full of tales and anecdotes of the last decade of running the Poltimore Arms.

I asked if he would sit down and talk to me about how he runs the pub and what makes it so unique, as well as his political involvement as a parliamentary candidate for North Devon in the last two general elections. He was more than happy to oblige and the next day I returned, where before I had even begun conducting the interview he had begun working the audience of pub dwellers that consisted mainly of my extended family. Steve loves an audience.

The Interview

“My only business plan – Don’t do what the other pubs do because they’re all f***ing failing.”

Steve in his chair surrounded by tea, tobacco and day drinkers.

Steve was invested in the interview. He informed me of his disappointment that I hadn’t brought a camera crew with me as he had “spent all morning” combing his hair. As it was only 2pm he was sat in his usual seat by the fire with a cup of tea. The rest of us in the pub had chosen to indulge in that day’s keg of Exeter Ale, self-poured so that we couldn’t “go on TripAdvisor and say the service was rude.” This created what I would call Steve’s “optimum storytelling atmosphere.”

We covered a lot of ground.

Steve explained how the pub is completely off-grid. The water comes from a spring two miles up the hill. When they run into water supply-related issues (a fairly often occurrence apparently), he puts a post on the pub’s Facebook page and the next day wakes up with five-gallon drums of water sitting outside, dropped off by local farmers. The electricity in the pub is supplied by newly set up solar panels.

“I don’t do food… Well, my barmaid cooks stuff on a Thursday night, but you wouldn’t want to eat that. I mean it really is diabolical.”

Steve explained how he had learnt to ride a horse to impress a woman who lived down the road, a Times art critic. This then led to the Poltimore Arms creating the countries only Pub Polo team. Despite being legally blind, Steve is apparently quite the polo player.

What really struck me, besides Steve’s constant jokes and his supposed parliamentary candidacy core policy of “free hair colouring on the National Health Service” for “the most oppressed minority in the world – ginger people,” was the true sense of community spirit that enveloped the foundations of the pub.

“It’s just p***heads basically, it’s all about the community working together.”

He explained how when elderly people in the community are sick or need help, the pub will ensure someone goes around to cut their grass or do their shopping. He says it’s all about looking after each other. To me, this is why the pub is so successful. Despite being in the middle of nowhere with not even a village connected to it, the sense of companionship is overwhelming. This is what makes places like this so vital in rural communities.

This article is an adapted version of a Politics in Motion radio special feature. You can listen to it, as well as my whole interview with Steve, on Spotify.