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Stroll around old Duxford pubs proves unlikely New Year hit

Adrian Powter People on a walking tour in DuxfordAdrian Powter
Dozens of people turned up to hear Mike Priestley's walking tour of Duxford's old beer haunts

A history enthusiast said he was amazed at the response after a walking tour of former pubs proved an unlikely social media hit.

A tweet about a New Year's Day stroll around Duxford, Cambridgeshire, was seen 350,000 times within 48 hours.

Organiser Mike Priestley said he only expected "a handful" of people on the day - but dozens turned up instead.

People commented on Twitter about the "amazing community spirit" and one wrote "this is just... lovely".

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Mr Priestley's son Phil tweeted that the tour "closed the roads", with Mike adding: "We can't believe it."

The Duxford History Society walk was billed as "a leisurely stroll around the sites of Duxford's former pubs, ale houses and shops".

Mr Priestley, a parish councillor and retired businessman, is a member of the village's history group.

"We have tremendous community spirit here," he said.

"We continue to have events because people like events, they like things to happen in this village and this is just the latest of them."

Adrian Powter People on a walking tour in DuxfordAdrian Powter
The tour took people on around the sites of six former watering holes in Duxford
Adrian Powter The Plough, DuxfordAdrian Powter
The Plough in Duxford was the only site in the village built and designed as a pub
Adrian Powter John Barleycorn pubAdrian Powter
The John Barleycorn pub was one of several built as so-called beer houses

Mr Priestley's profile on the parish council website says he has "a particular interest in the footpaths around the village and the history of the village".

Jim Longstaff, from the Duxford History Group, said the village, also home to the Imperial War Museum at the former RAF Duxford airfield, had a long history associated with drinking establishments, although it had only one purpose-built pub.

"There was only one that was actually built as a pub, which is The Plough, which is still open," he said.

"The others were all what they called beer houses; that's when the people in the houses brewed their own beer and sold it.

"The difference between a pub and a beer house is that the beer houses could only sell beer, and the pubs had a licence for spirits and wines as well.

"We don't really know [how old the Plough is] but it must have been in the early 18th Century, I think."

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