Old Ferry Boat Inn, Holywell

The question of which is the oldest pub in the country has piqued my interest this year.
And this is what led me to be balancing precariously on a tree branch across St Ives Stream on a sunny Easter weekend morning.
 
The Old Ferryboat Inn (Holywell, St Ives, PE27 4TG - web)
Of all the claimants to the title 'Britain's Oldest Pub' The Old Ferryboat is one of the most ambitious of them all.  Reputedly, alcohol was served at this location as early as 560 AD.
A historical inn, with a walk along the river to reach it, in the sunshine;  I was looking forward to this visit.

The Old Ferryboat Inn from the garden, before the crowds descended.

The Church of St John the Baptist, containing a holy well
from which the village takes its name. 

The village of Holywell where the pub is located is around 1½ miles by footpath from St Ives in Cambridgeshire.

With a sense of adventure (that means I didn't check the map properly) we took a longer route, following a path along the Great Ouse River from the town centre.  This is how we came to be crossing the stream on a fallen tree branch.
No pictures of Mrs PropUptheBar shuffling across ignobly on her derriere, due to her GDPR preferences.

We then got caught on brambles on a little-walked path, before finally reaching wide-open fields leading to the village church.
At the end of the street, next to the river, the white-painted pub is standing out magnificently in the sunshine.

White pub, Blue sky - The Old Ferry Boat Inn

Most folks are engrossed in conversation, but that dog has spotted me with my camera and knows I'm up to no good...

Outdoor Cutlery Hut -
an original 560 AD feature.

I'd timed my arrival to be as early as possible to avoid inevitable holiday weekend crowds descending upon the pub.  And descend they did.  We settled on a table in the pleasant garden to the side of the building, which quickly filled up.

The Ferryboat is owned by Greene King and branded as an 'Old English Inn'.  But alongside the usual GK ales there was also an Oakham 'Bishop's Farewell', a nice pint, served in good condition.

The 'oldest pub' claim seems to be a little low key.  Perhaps because they got fed-up of people asking to see those 'records' of drinks being sold here as early as 560 AD.
There's a suggestion that the buildings foundations date back even earlier than this, but archaeologists seem unable to put a definitive date on the building.

The Ghost Story Bit...
What you will find with every web search for the pub - and recounted on a chalk-board within the bar - is a ghost tale associated with the Old Ferry Boat.
It tells how a young girl called Juliet fell in love with woodcutter Tom Zoul.  When Tom didn't return her love, she took her own life.
Juliet was buried in unconsecrated ground next to the pub, the stigma of suicide not allowing for a church burial.  As the pub has expanded over the years it now incorporates this plain stone slate grave, set among'st the dining tables.

Each year on the 17th March it is said that her ghostly figure rises from the river to make her way to the gravestone.

Well, it wouldn't  be a proper old pub without a ghost tale attached to it.

Our's was a pleasant visit, aided by the fact the we beat the crowds and saw the pub in wonderful good weather.  We walked back to St Ives on the more straightforward route, picking up the dull, straight road past the quarry and concrete works.