SCENES of pride and congratulations greeted the landlord and staff at an award-winning Bodmin pub.

The Hole in the Wall, a traditional pub based in the town, has won its third CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) award in two years with its latest accolade, the CAMRA South West pub of the year award being the first time the venue has won the prize.

The latest accolade comes after four victories in the Cornwall CAMRA pub of the year competition in the last ten years, with previous wins of the local award coming in 2015, 2016, 2024 and 2025.

Each of the winners in the local areas is then put forward to compete against each other for the regional prize for the entirety of the South West and it is this prize that the much-loved Bodmin venue successfully won for the first time.

It will now go forward to the national CAMRA pub of the year award where it will compete as one of 16 pubs, representing the regional winners of each area to win the main prize, something that Mr Hall has previously described as being the ultimate way to mark a long tenure at the helm of the venue.

Not even the grey, damp skies could dampen the spirits of those in attendance to see Steve Hall, the venue’s long serving landlord and his team be presented with the award by Pete Bridle, the regional director for South West CAMRA, with the outside area covered by a marquee to welcome guests while the inclement weather pelted it down with rain.

Mr Bridle also took the opportunity to address those in attendance on the dangers facing the pubs ahead and encouraging them to engage in CAMRA’s efforts to ‘save the locals’.

Reacting to winning the South West pub of the year award, Steve Hall, the landlord of the Hole in the Wall said: “It is a real honour to represent Cornwall and the South West CAMRA region and to be in the last 16 for the overall national pub of the year award is a great honour for me, my excellent team, our locals and Bodmin in general.

“It is not every day that you win the award of South West pub of the year, in fact, it is the first time we’ve won it and we hope to be able to fly the flag for the South West in the national awards. After 22 years of running the pub, it is the icing on the cake and it is a testament to the hard work of the team I have around me that we were able to win this award in a competition with some genuinely excellent pubs.

“The ethos of the Hole in the Wall is simple. We want to give the best possible service and quality to our locals and visitors and at a price that isn’t unreasonable for the products we sell. We aim to treat people how we would want to be treated and its nice to be recognised for that.”