People from across the world intentionally travel to the highest pub in Britain to get snowed in so they can have time off work.
Thirty-two guests, including six staff members, were said to be in ‘high spirits’ after spending their fourth day trapped inside the Tan Hill Inn following heavy snow on Saturday night.
Customers passed the time at the isolated spot, roughly 65 miles north of Manchester in the Yorkshire Dales, by playing games, watching movies, singing and dancing.
Yet, for a pub that sits 528 metres (1,732 ft) above sea level and is renowned for severe snow storms, you might have expected people to steer clear of the area.
But this is not the first time people have become stranded inside the cozy pub, nor does it appear to be the last.
The world famous inn, which also operates seven guest rooms, made headlines in 2021 when more than 60 people got stuck in the pub after watching an Oasis tribute band. The revellers were cut off by 3ft of snow and spent three nights in the pub.
And, according to the Tan Hill Inn, guests ‘regularly’ flock to the Yorkshire public house with the sole intention of getting snowed in so they can sneak time off work.
A spokesperson for the pub told MailOnline that they ‘always’ get people who – if bad snow is forecast – travel to the pub with blankets and provisions to see them through any lock-in.
They said: ‘We do regularly get people who try to get locked in so they don’t have to go to work.’
A look at the snow which trapped guests at the Tan Hill Inn, in North Yorkshire
Comments beneath Tan Hill Inn’s social media page and Tripadvisor reviews show guests ‘wishing’ that they had gotten snowed in at the property
Those locked in at the Tan Hill Inn have played cards and board games to keep entertained
Paul (pictured with Tan Hill Inn manager Nicole), from Katherine in the Northern Territory, said he had never seen real snow before his holiday – with temperatures at home at around 30°C
Or, alternatively, if there is already bad snow that has hit the area, people still try to make their way to the pub to get locked in, although they are often unable to due to such severe conditions.
Providing an update on the most recent group of guests who were snowed in at the pub, the spokesperson said: ‘This time around, none of the people in the pub knew that the snow was going to be so bad, so it was accidental.
‘Many had booked their trips early last year, but we do regularly get people who try to get locked in so they don’t have to go to work.’
Following the advice of the area’s road department, the Tan Hill Inn has now closed their pub as Tan Hill Road remains impassable with high winds and snow drifts in place.
Everybody inside the pub, except for three, has now been rescued by snow ploughs, who were previously struggling to clear the drifts.
It was said that the snow plough took four hours to break through to get to the pub and it did not want to make another round trip after six-foot snow drifts were spotted across the main road in front of the pub at one point.
Temperatures fell to -11.1C in some parts and the Met Office and UK Health Security Agency issued amber ‘danger to life’ alerts ahead of the blizzards
Many people picked problems with people ignoring warnings to go up there so they can ‘skive off work’
Australian tourists Paul Wright (right) and his family family enjoy drinks by candle light during their enforced stay at the Tan Hill Inn in North Yorkshire
Paul and Naomi Wright (pictured) were expecting to be watching Harry Potter on London’s West End by now as part of their three-week holiday visiting family in the UK
Snow covers the guest domes at the Tan Hill Inn. Some guests hope to get locked in
A look at the heavy snow which also captured guests back in 2021
Manager David Rowell, 43, previously said: ‘Staff are a little tired, but other than that it’s all right. The staff that are currently here, this is day seven for them working here. This [Monday] will be their third day stuck.
‘I’ve managed to avoid snow-ins in the past, but it’s caught up with us eventually, so it’s my turn this time.
‘We have three real fires, and obviously we run off a generator so the heating is on “constant” at the moment.’
The pub’s electric power comes from a generator and there is enough food for about a month – and around two week’s worth of beer.
Australian tourists Paul and Naomi Wright were expecting to be watching Harry Potter on London’s West End by now as part of their three-week holiday visiting family in the UK.
Paul, from Katherine in the Northern Territory, said he had never seen real snow before his holiday – with temperatures at home more usually around 30C.
Some 60 people were involved in the lock-in at the remote Tan Hill Inn in the Yorkshire Dales in 2021
Guests pictured being treated to films on a projector screen, a quiz night and a buffet meal at the Tan Hill Inn in 2021
Many guests slept on makeshift beds and mattresses on the floor at the Tan Hill Inn in the Yorkshire Dales four years ago
A look at the Oasis tribute band that performed at the Tan Hall Inn prior to a previous lock in
Some 61 people were trapped in the Tan Hill Inn as a result of heavy snowfall following Storm Arwen
Snow in the doorway of the Tan Hill Inn four years ago after guests became trapped on Friday
The 52-year-old, who is travelling with his wife, his 22-year-old son, sister-in-law, four-year-old nephew, and two friends, said: ‘I think it’s hilarious, I love it.
‘I’ve seen generated snow in snow fields in Australia, but nothing like this in regards to white-outs.
‘Driving through Scotland and York, the amount of snow we’ve seen covering everything is unbelievable, we can’t believe how white everything is.
‘There’s a lovely group of people here, the people that run this place are so warm and welcoming and friendly.
‘The poor staff that are here were all meant to go out the other day, they’ve had to stay because they’re snowed in, and these guys are working from like five-thirty and six in the morning through to 11 at night.
‘I’m sitting at the window at the moment watching one of them shovel snow off the steps so people can walk outside.’
