Cornish pub where the regulars plough the fields Imagine running a thriving real ale pub that comes complete with beamed ceilings, open fireplaces and views over fields and a 15th-century church. It could be a reality for one couple seeking a new life in the country. "Before we took over it was just a boozer," says Chris Brazier, current landlord of The Queens Arms in the ancient village of Breage, in west Cornwall. The popular pub now garners unremitting praise on the TripAdvisor website, as well as having established itself as the heart of the village. One of the changes Chris and his wife, Sue, have introduced during their six-and-a-half-year tenure is the brilliantly simple concept of letting locals farm its adjacent fallow land. Four years ago, over a pint in the pub, one customer suggested turning the field into allotments. "We thought it was a good idea so we got a local lad to plough it and dig it over, and we put an ad in the village for anyone who wanted a plot," said Chris. Today, 15 villagers each farm a small area, paying £1 a year for the space and contributing 10 per cent of their fruit and vegetables to the pub kitchen. It clearly works well for a pub that has built a reputation for excellent food and local produce, such as fish from Newlyn and meat from the butchers three miles away in Helston. "The allotment holders ask us what we would like and we tell them," said Chris, who does the cooking with Sue. Last year we were keen to get different colours of beetroot. It makes a lovely dish roasted with Chantenay carrots and honey with fennel seeds. This year the pub's menu is bursting with winter greens, while the tables are often adorned with flowers from its regulars" plots. As well as boasting a sizeable lounge bar, games room and beer garden, the soon-to-retire couple have added an outdoor shelter for smokers, complete with log burner, after the smoking ban caused business to drop by £1,000 a week. "We've gained it back in spades," says Chris. The pub is now a certified Caravan Club location too, with a pitch for five caravans next door, as well as boasting two AA 3* gold b&b rooms. Chris believes whoever takes over the lease needs to be "prepared to muck in with the locals and have a bit of a laugh - they'd have to be hands on." Regular customer Jean Phillips agrees: "They will also need to maintain the high standard of food and the variety of local beers - oh and keep welcoming well-behaved dogs." The Braziers might have created a demanding clientele, but for the right couple this Cornish idyll could be a dream come true. The Queens Arms, Breage, Cornwall is for sale (leasehold) for a guide price of £125,000 (millercommercial.co.uk, 01872 247027)