New Inn tree felling marks end of Christmas at Cononley (From Craven Herald)
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New Inn tree felling marks end of Christmas at Cononley
8:00am Friday 11th January 2013 in News
Andrew Radcliffe, Ian Savoury and Robert Riley at the felling of the Christmas tree
Festive fun finally ended in Cononley when three “fellers” chopped down a 30ft Christmas tree outside the village’s historic New Inn.
The giant spruce was a gift to landlord Ian Savoury from pub regular Robert Riley who farms above Lothersdale, but after Twelfth Night, it had to be toppled.
“I’ve got about 2,000 conifers on a plantation and they’ve all grown too big for domestic use, so I thought I’d let Ian have one,” said Mr Riley, of Lower Weasel Farm.
“And he kindly gave us a few Christmas pints during what was a long and thirsty couple of weeks.”
Mr Riley put up the tree with son-in-law and landscaper Andrew Radcliffe – and then chainsawed it down too.
“It was a great tree and part of a very successful Christmas for the pub,” said Mr Savoury.
