Charity fox walk to mark pub re-opening

A unique charity walk to celebrate the re-opening of the Fox at Loxley pub will take place this Sunday.

The Fox will re-open on Friday 21st May as a community venture, after residents of Loxley and supporters from far and wide raised £250,000 to buy the property from EI Group last year.

However on Sunday, Paul Jennings, chair of the Fox at Loxley Action Group, will walk from Warwickshire’s first community pub, the New Inn at Norton Lindsey, to the Fox at Loxley, dressed as (you guessed it) a fox.

The ten-mile walk will raise money for the Plunkett Foundation, which supports rural pubs, cafes and other community businesses.

Although originally aiming to raise £500, Paul has already reached almost £1,200.

There will also be a symbolic handover of the keys to the Fox to its new manager and chef Hannah and Ryan as Paul reaches Loxley.

Although Paul’s walk will come a few days before the official opening, nobody will begrudge him the first pint in the pub when he completes the challenge.

Paul said: “I just wanted to do this to show our support to the Plunkett Foundation and help raise their profile a bit. Also I thought it would be great to walk from Warwickshire’s first community pub to its newest one and it just helps to create a bit of a buzz around the re-opening, I’m really pleased to have raised so much already.

“It’ll be great when we open to customers, I’ve spent so much time there that it’ll be a bit strange being there with lots of other people.”

It has been a long wait for residents to get their village pub back, with the pandemic delaying the purchase and re-opening.

However volunteers have not stood still over recent months, with covid-safe decoration sessions completely transforming the look of the pub.

There have also been some alterations to the layout in preparation for the re-opening.

When it does finally welcome back customers, the aim is to make the Fox at Loxley the hub of the village, providing a meeting space for local groups.

A café will also run during the day at the pub, while in the future there are plans to create a community growing space on land at the rear of the premises.

To support Paul visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Paul-Jennings-Fox-at-Loxley.