THE Galleon public bar and restaurant at The Cawsand Bay Hotel is situated in an idyllic position on the beach at Cawsand with a fine view across the Tamar River - as it is the highest point of the building.

Owned and run by Ash Baker and his wife Debbie, with his parents, Alan and Pam since August, Ash explained: 'We moved here from Berkshire. We wanted a change of lifestyle and were looking to get into the catering and hotel business.'

Before taking over The Cawsand Bay Hotel, Ash had worked at Heathrow Airport for ten years and Debbie was a manager at a country house hotel and then moved on to being a buyer for a supermarket chain. Ash said: 'This is a totally different way of living, It's not work, it becomes your life and it's certainly different getting praise for your work instead of criticism!'

Alan Baker used to work as a director in Booker Foods. Pam explained: 'This is something we have always wanted to do and it is really nice down here. The people are great and have given us encouragement all the way.'

The Galleon comprises a breakfast and function room, called the Blue Room and the main bar area and restaurant. There is also a table in the corner of the room called 'The Snug' for all the true romantics to eat and cuddle up in! The restaurant and Blue Room can cater for up to 100 people depending on the seating format.

For functions there are three classes of menu, standard, premium and luxury and for buffets there is a choice of either the standard or delux menu.

Refurbishment

The hotel provides 10 rooms, but 32 beds, as many rooms are family rooms and beach rooms. Debbie said: 'We have been doing a room refurbishment. The rooms are what we would like if we were staying away somewhere. It's all good, clean accommodation, cosy and appealing.'

The rooms are fully booked during most weekends and all week during the summer. Debbie explained: 'Many of our rooms are booked out for families when they visit to attend passing out parades at HMS Raleigh, and we also take the overspill from Polawn Fort at Rame where they host many weddings and functions. Christmas and New Year was so busy we actually had to pass trade on to neighbouring businesses.'

Since being at The Cawsand Bay Hotel for six months Ash said: 'We've built up a great local clientele who are very loyal to us, Sundays get so full, with locals and visitors, we have to turn people away!'

Becky Williams from Millbrook and Jade Kerri from Cawsand come to The Galleon most nights. Becky said: 'It's a nice, relaxing place to come to after work, I know everyone who comes here.' Jade commented: 'The food here is very good, and it's a friendly place to come.'

The extensive menu covers one extreme to the other from every day, quick meals to high class cuisine, with prices ranging from £4.95 to £11. There is also a Senior Citizens' lunch special which costs £5.30 for a two course meal. All food is expertly cooked by head chef David Trethewey, who has worked there for nearly three years, ably assisted by second chef Ian 'Curry' Murray and assistant Lee 'Soupy' Acton.

Various foods

David, who lives on the premises, said: 'We cover a wide spectrum of good traditional English meals and Continental fayre as we try to appeal to a wide section of people and give something for everyone.'

He continued: 'We also offer various foods for people on special diets, celiacs, vegetarian and low fat foods - it's all part of the service these days and it's important to offer that.'

Ian Murray has worked at The Galleon for nine months and before that was a fisherman for 28 years. He said: 'I sold my own business down here and went up to Grimsby to work long lining as a favour for a friend. I did much of the cooking on the boat and discovered that if I had a Merchant Navy Ships Cook and Bakers Certificate I could do much more.'

Ian won his certificate after training at Tyneside and eventually moved back to Cornwall and started work at The Galleon. Ian joked: 'You get a captive audience at sea when you're cooking, but you don't get second chances!'

Lee, or 'Soupy' as he is known, responsible for the soups and sauces, is a Millbrook lad and started work at The Galleon five years ago as part time help. He has been working full time for over two years.

The friendly face behind the bar who is most likely to say 'Hello Darling' whether she knows you or not is probably Pam Beal. Pam, from Millbrook, has worked at the bar for over a year and is, what some say, 'quite talkative'.

She said: 'I love working here. The customers are terrific and the feedback you get is brilliant. I love meeting new people and working here is rewarding in every aspect.' Pam's catchphrase of 'Hello Darling' or 'Sweetheart' is well known to all who visit here.

Great atmosphere

Pam commented: 'I say that because it makes people feel instantly as if they know you. It starts of the conversation, like serving with a smile. People don't just keep coming back for the food, the atmosphere is second to none.' She added: 'Deb's is a great boss and there's a good working relationship between us all.'

A regular at the pub is Val Harold. Her husband, Michael, works at DML in Plymouth and they live at Cawsand during the week before travelling back to Hampshire for weekends.

Val said: 'This is my local and has been for the past two and a half years. It's very good value for money, the food is great, the welcome is great and I'm the best of friends with the owners!' Gwenda Arnold has worked at The Galleon since June. She was in the bar with her husband, Richard, and daughter, 14-month-old Bethany.

Richard said: 'I like it here, it's ideal for families and there's a good atmosphere.' Gwenda said: 'I like working here. When the family comes down we come here for a meal and we bring our other children, MacKenzie, 17, Rowan, aged 15 and 12-year-old Joss here for a meal every so often.'

The Cawsand Bay Hotel was built on the site of an old blacksmith's shop and garage in 1960 and part of the cellar is the former pilchard store.

There is a car park for customers behind the hotel, which to reach, you have to drive through the underpass, under The Galleon bar.

The galleon is the home of the Cawsand Bay Sailing Club who use the balcony outside the bar to place their claxon for the races held in the bay. The bar and function room is also the meeting place for The Rame Gig club, the local WI and the Literary Society to name but a few.

Ash is currently constructing up a website for the Hotel. He said: 'We have pictures of the hotel, the rooms, the view, a link into what to do in the surrounding area and various other features.' Find it at http://www.cawsandbay.co.uk">www.cawsandbay.co.uk.

During the summer Ash and Debbie open the 'Sea Deck Bar' downstairs which leads directly on to the beach. This bar also serves bar food and takeaway meals as well having an ice cream parlour to hand.

'Table eight'

The view from The Galleon bar and restaurant looks out over the Tamar River and even on to Dartmoor. Debbie said: 'The river is quite busy and there's always something to look at. Every day we see something different.'

On New Year's Day the customers in the restaurant were alerted by head chef David to the fact that there were dolphins in the bay. Debbie said: 'I half expected to need binoculars but they were only 100 yards or so off shore. It was absolutely magical.'

Thanks to this view the famous Table Eight in the restaurant is most frequently booked out, being next to the balcony windows. Ash explained: 'Everyone loves sitting at Table Eight. It's booked out for the next five Sundays!'