The family-friendly Bristol country pub with alpacas and its own free music festival

The Rose and Crown at Pucklechurch is gearing up for its first ever music festival and there’s already a big buzz about it.

Rhianne and Jamie Wilkins took over the pub in March 2022 and they’ve already put their stamp on the place.

The new owners have already organised several events at the pub, from the monthly quizzes to a medium evening and Christmas wreath-making.

And now they are getting ready for Puckle Fest, a three-day music festival which takes place from Friday, August 4 to Sunday, August 6.

Over the course of three days, this free music event will feature a full line-up of acts including The Mangledwurzels, Absolutely Elton, Frampton Shantymen and Sambistas.

Rhianne says: “Puckle Fest has come about as last year we did a family fun day with one local band and it went very well. The feedback from the locals and those who attended was so positive that this year we really wanted to build on it and make a free annual event that can bring the community together whileraising funds for a local charity.”

This year, the chosen charity to raise money for is the nearby Pucklechurch Primary School.

Rhianne says: “We have many links to the school and a large number of our staff have children that attend the school and many of the staff have attended the school in the past themselves. Also many of our locals are connected to the school in some way.”

A traditional countryside pub for locals and visitors alike, The Rose and Crown is a warm and welcoming pub with a beautiful beer garden which is currently bursting with flowers and plants.

Within the grounds, there are also three resident alpacas - Dotty, Rosie and Ayda - who are retired and living out their life at the pub, much to the pleasure of visitors.

The pub serves home-cooked food with locally sourced ingredients and there are regularly changing specials boards. The bar has a wide range of drinks including three pumps with real ales and local ciders.

Rhianne says: “We have a wide range of visitors to our pub from all around, be it people passing by and stopping overnight in their campervans to families who enjoy feeding the alpacas. We also get a lot of walkers and cyclists and, of course, our lovely locals who we see on a regular basis.

“There’s a real buzz with people talking about Puckle Fest in the pub at the moment as it’s our first year.

“We want to make it a great success for the primary school and the pub so that we can continue to do it year after year, choosing a different charity each year voted by the local community.”

The Rose & Crown, 68 Parkfield Road, Bristol, BS16 9PS.