Patrons and employees get snowed in at Britain’s highest pub as blizzard situations throughout Storm Chandra trigger havoc
Patrons and staff were snowed in at Britain’s highest pub yesterday as blizzard conditions during Storm Chandra caused havoc.
About 25 people, including a six-month-old baby, were trapped inside The Tan Hill Inn in Richmond, the Yorkshire Dales, when heavy snow and ice blocked the roads.
Among those stuck in the pub – which is located 1,732 feet above sea level – were 15 overnight customers, five who were staying in nearby campervans, and a female walker who sought shelter during the wintry weather.
The pub lit the fire to keep patrons cosy and said in an update on its social media platforms announcing its closure that ‘our guests are settling down after a Tan Hill Full English’.
A ‘hero gritter’ had his efforts to clear the roads thwarted by a stranded HGV. The customers were freed by 3pm, bringing their seven-hour ‘ordeal’ to an end.
Andrew Hields, landlord of the Tan Hill Inn, told the BBC that by the pub’s standards the snow that blocked the pub was ‘not that heavy’.
‘It was other vehicles struggling on the hills in the area which blocked our guests in,’ he said.
Earlier this month, staff and customers were trapped for six days until a fellow barmaid came to their rescue.
Patrons and staff were snowed in at The Tan Hill Inn – Britain’s highest pub – yesterday as blizzard conditions during Storm Chandra caused havoc
The pub lit the fire to keep patrons cosy and said in an update on its social media platforms announcing its closure that ‘our guests are settling down after a Tan Hill Full English’
Speaking of the latest incident before people were freed, pub spokesman Tony Durrant said: ‘The routes out were blocked by traffic this morning, which got caught in the bad conditions. Mainly HGVs, wagons, food delivery, things like that, not necessarily to us, just people going about their daily stuff. They got stuck and blocked the roads.’
He added: ‘One of the 15 guests is a six-month old baby. They’re perfectly safe and in a nice warm room, not a problem. Everyone is making a fuss over it.
‘At the moment, the guests are just sitting around and having a bit of lunch. There’s no sort of organised fun as they expect to be out of there pretty soon.’
Heavy snow at the start of January saw 23 visitors and six staff trapped inside the pub.
Customers had trekked to the world famous boozer and later became ‘snowed in’ as they were unable to drive home following the inclement weather.
The pub kept the public updated with their situation on social media, with heart-warming posts showing guests making snowmen and playing board games together to get through each day.
They even received some tasty gifts from supermarket chain Aldi after the pub announced it had experienced a ‘red wine and banger shortage’.
While a number of guests had been able to leave on Tuesday, it was not until Thursday that the staff were able to make their own exit when a fellow barmaid finally relieved them of their duties.
Around 25 people, including a six-month-old baby, were trapped inside the boozer in Richmond, the Yorkshire Dales, when heavy snow and ice blocked the roads
A ‘hero gritter’ had his efforts to clear the roads thwarted by a stranded HGV. The customers were freed by 3pm, bringing their seven-hour ordeal to an end
Andrew Hields, landlord of the Tan Hill Inn, told the BBC that by the pub’s standards the snow that blocked the pub was ‘not that heavy’
A snow plough making its way to The Tan Hill Inn to clear the roads after heavy snow had blocked people inside the pub
Elle Applegarth, 25, from Washington, Sunderland, who works as a member of the bar staff, had managed to avoid the lock-in after leaving early.
But she returned to the pub as a knight in shining armour a few days later to take over from her exhausted colleagues, despite the venue remaining closed.
Meanwhile, Britain faces further flood misery today as almost 400 areas were on alert after Storm Chandra’s record-breaking rain – with rail lines suspended until at least Friday.
A major incident was declared in Somerset following the extraordinary deluge, while the Environment Agency issued 100 flood warnings and 262 alerts across England.
Natural Resources Wales had three flood warnings and 16 alerts in place, while the Scottish Environment Protection Agency activated eight warnings and eight alerts.
National Rail said major disruption would continue until at least the end of Friday on Great Western Railway services between Exeter, Okehampton and Barnstaple in Devon due to the flooding, telling passengers: ‘You are advised not to travel.’
Severe weather also impacted ScotRail services between Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness today with speed restrictions imposed for safety reasons.
An RAC recovery driver attaches a tow rope to a small Peugeot car after it slides off the road at the summit of Holme Moss — January 27, 2026
A van and car collided during heavy snow on the Yorkshire Dales – January 27, 2026
Brits were also told to take care on slippery paths and roads this morning with the Met Office issuing an ice warning after the rain froze on untreated surfaces.
The alert covered much of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and southern Scotland until 10am and warned of ‘some injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces’.
Temperatures dropped overnight to -5C (23F) in the Scottish Highlands, while the low in England was -1C (30F) in Surrey. UK Health Security Agency cold health alerts for northern England run until Friday amid a ‘greater risk to life of vulnerable people’.
A 12-hour yellow rain warning was also announced for South West England tomorrow from midday to midnight, amid concerns over further rain causing more flooding.
