HIDDEN in the leafy folds of a valley between Torpoint and Millbrook, the tiny village of St John is a delight to discover. Even more of a discovery is its 16th century Inn, with pretty and unexpectedly large gardens.

Mine hosts Roy and Pat Wheelwright lived in Birmingham up until three years ago, managing pubs for Bass - but they wanted to own their own place. A chain of events led them back to the St John Inn, which they had visited and fallen in love with almost a decade previously: 'We always knew we'd move down to this part of the world,' said Roy, 'but we found out about the St John Inn by fluke really.'

The couple were making enquiries about a completely different pub, but it turned out to have already been sold. Then one property among a list of details they were leafing through caught Roy's eye - and he recognised the pub straight away. 'It was about 12 years ago we first came in the pub,' said Pat, 'and I said 'that'll do me!'

In the three years since they arrived, the couple have made various improvements on the Inn without disturbing its character; 'It was in the doldrums a bit when we arrived,' explained Roy, 'we've improved it a bit, but we haven't changed it.'

As well as extending the garden and the patio, Roy and Pat have redecorated the 'children's room' at the back of the main bar, now a popular room for family lunches. Their most recent project was to convert the upstairs part of the Inn to bed and breakfast accommodation for four people. The holidaymakers and businessmen that have stayed say they love the tranquility - and no-one has yet been disturbed by the ghost, which Pat said she heard on one of their first nights in St John; 'We moved in on the Friday,' she said, 'and the Friday after we were all down here and we heard footsteps upstairs - the customers heard it as well.'

'Roy said - 'go and have a look' - so I did, but there wasn't anybody there. Whoever he or she is is only friendly and has never made an appearance - but we've heard the footsteps once or twice since.'

Any clues as to the identity of the ghost were wiped out along with parish records, destroyed by fire in the second world war. 'People tried to put together a village book for the millennium,' said Roy, 'but it didn't come to much, because they couldn't go that far back.'

'All the parish records were moved to Mount Edgcumbe during the war for safekeeping,' he continued, 'but it was bombed, and the records were destroyed.' Roy guesses the building has been used as a public house for about a hundred years, and was originally three cottages - one of which was demolished to make way for what is now the car park.

Making a special trip to the St John Inn was Brian Rogers, with his nephews Boris and Sinisa Popovich, visiting from Bosnia. It was the first time they had been back to Britain since 1988, following a visit by Brian and his wife last year. 'It was the first time we had gone back after the war,' said Brian, 'and my wife hadn't seen her sister, or the boys, for 10 years.'

They wanted to see a typically English pub with a low ceiling, and Brian, from Torpoint, remembered the St John Inn from visits as a youngster: 'I used to come here when I was a tacker, when my parents walked on the Whitsands,' he said, 'and I also used to play darts here when I was younger - I thought it would be a nice place for them to come.' Boris said the pub was very different to bars in Bosnia, which are mostly for young people.

A big surprise to anyone visiting the St John Inn for the first time is the spacious, sun-filled garden behind the pub. Although completely secluded, it has plenty of room to relax in - and while the grown ups take it easy, children can play on the swings. Stretching out beyond the garden is about one and a half acres of land, which Pat says 'used to be a real jungle,' but is now available for campers to use.

The garden is an ideal spot to enjoy a spot of lunch - especially popular are the Sunday roasts. 'We don't profess to be a restaurant,' said Roy, 'we're a pub that serves food, but we've got a good local reputation. People tend to come back again and again - so we must be doing something right!'

In agreement with this were Russ and Ingrid Smith from Crafthole, who describe the St John as their 'once a week pub.' 'We started off meeting friends down here, 'said Russ, 'now we never come here just for drinks, we come for eats as well.'

Pat prepares all the pub's food herself, but giving a helping hand was her granddaughter Christine from Aberystwyth. She came originally for a two week holiday, but liked it so much in St John that she decided to come back and spend the rest of her school holiday here, and is splitting her time between helping her nan and trips to the beach...

Although the pub was fairly quiet on the lunchtime we visited, in the evenings it can be a different story - guitarist Pete Stannisforth or 'Stats' as he is known plays occasionally. Another lively night is Wednesdays for the quiz, and the pub also has a successful ladies darts team, the 'St John Angels.' A stunning collection of trophies in the window records their triumphs, although off the oche 'they're certainly not angels' according to local Sam Weller!

Sam must be the pub's most 'regular' regular - he even has his own key to the place! He has lived in St John for 22 years and worked at the Inn for a good few of those - but says he 'definitely prefers it' the other side of the bar.

'I think the people behind the bar are the most important thing about a pub,' said Sam, 'you've got to be made to feel welcome - and have the right selection of ales!' There is a full range of lager, real ale and cream flow behind the bar, including Sharp Ales' Cornish Coaster.

The St John Inn is central to the community - taking part in the Harvest Festival in its own unique way with the pub pumpkin growing contest, which Roy told us is an old tradition they resurrected. After the competition the giant vegetables are auctioned for charity along with other goods - 'normally a good laugh,' says Roy, 'as my wife always bids against me!'

Another fundraising event is the Christmas draw, which Roy said is a very successful way of raising money: 'We put a list of items up on the wall, and start the ball rolling ourselves with a bottle of scotch,' he explained. 'Customers donate whatever it might be - we end up with 30 or 40 prizes, and doing it that way doesn't cost anything at all.'

It is obvious that the St John Inn has a fond place at the heart of its village - tankards and glasses hang up around the bar waiting for their owners to arrive. Clearer still is that Roy and Pat are thought of very highly by their customers - an ode written to them for their second anniversary in the pub is very modestly hidden away behind a table, and reads: 'It isn't just the food or beer, that keep the people coming here.'

'Not only are you friends of ours, you keep the longest opening hours. This gives us time for drinks and eats - and keeps us off the Torpoint streets!'