Southport BID feature by Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
Southport’s youngest landlords are celebrating five years of running one of the very best pubs in Merseyside.
Neil Walsh and Tom Hodgin were 26-years-old when they took over The Windmill pub on Seabank Road, in Southport town centre, in November 2018.
They have just seen The Windmill shortlisted for Pub Of The Year in the Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards for the third year in a row, and have a clutch of other awards behind them too.
Earlier this year, The Windmill was runner-up for Southport Pub or Bar of the Year in Southport BID’s Your Southport Stars Awards. The venue was the County Winner for Merseyside in the 2023 National Pub and Bar Awards.
The venue previously won the Most Inclusive Local Pub Award in the Liverpool Region, in the Northern Enterprise Awards.
It has been an unforgettable five years – not least how the couple came through the Covid pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns, but also how they have transformed so many aspects of the pub.
Today The Windmill is famous for its superb home cooked food; its many varied events; its top class real ale; its roaring fire; the many groups that meet there; and an unrivalled sense of community.
The venue is hosting a special fifth birthday celebration event from 8pm on Saturday, 4th November 2023, with everyone invited.
Neil Walsh said: “Tom and I took over The Windmill in November 2018. We have loved being here.
“We have turned The Windmill into a proper local, community pub, right in the heart of Southport.
“We have made it more inviting, more inclusive. We have great relationships with local guest houses and B&Bs in our area. It’s always good to see them so well represented at the Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards!
“When we took over, I didn’t think we’d have made as many changes as we have in such a relatively short space of time!
“Every corner of the pub has had some form of work done to it, both inside and outside.
“We have just finished refurbishing the disabled toilets.
“We have gone from having three members of staff when we started to 14 members of staff now.
“We have a real kitchen team now, with four people in the kitchen, preparing and cooking proper home cooked food, which we are really proud of.
“The menu has changed dramatically.
“Ninety five per cent of our food is freshly made and home cooked. We make everything, including our pies, our own sticky toffee puddings, all kinds.
“We are well-known for our traditional Sunday roast dinners.
“We have a five star food hygiene rating.
“We are very proud of our real ales, we are Cask Marque accredited. We always listen to customers’ feedback on which beers they’d like to see in the pumps.
“We have a real fire, which customers love to see when they walk in.
“It feels like a lot longer than five years since we have been here!
“Tom and I were 26 years old when we started. We are both 31 now, and I’m pretty sure we’re still the youngest landlords in Southport.
“There is so much history to The Windmill. It is one of the oldest pubs in Southport.
“It is the oldest building on Seabank Road – older even than St Marie’s Church opposite.
“Local historian David Walshe has done lots of research on the pub and he’s coming in to do a talk on it on Tuesday 21st November.
“He has researched all the way back to 1834. The talk is free, but people have been booking places for it. Over 50 people have booked in already, all the seats are now taken. It’s standing room only for anyone else who wants to come and listen. There is a real fascination with it.
“We love the sense of community we have at The Windmill. We have darts teams, dominoes teams, bikers’ groups, poetry events, and a sci-fi group.
“Our quiz nights which we hold every Wednesday are always very busy.
“There is lots we do to raise money for local charities, or to support local organisations.
“We recently presented a cheque for £1,700 to the 281 (Southport) Squadron Air Training Cadets.
“We provide meals for Southport Soup Kitchen. There are lots of unseen things we do as well to support people.
“We are doing lots of events coming up to Christmas, including free Christmas movie nights on the big screen, Christmas wreath making, Festive Brass every Sunday in December, Christmas lunch and singalong.
“Some of our festive events are already booked up!”
The Windmill has been an active supporter of Southport BID and services that the BID supports, including Southport PubWatch.
Neil said: “PubWatch is an essential organisation to be a part of. If someone is barred from one PubWatch venue, they are barred from them all.
“We all share information and expertise with each other about how best to keep our pubs able to offer safe and enjoyable experiences for everyone who comes in.
“Southport BID is heavily involved in making Southport PubWatch what it is, they’re very keen to support local businesses in the night-time economy as well as the daytime economy.
“The BID has helped us to create new content, for free, to help us to promote what we offer, which would have cost us hundreds of pounds otherwise.
“In terms of value for money, and what we get in return for being part of it, Southport BID is fantastic.
“It’s all about being active – as a business, the more you engage and get involved with Southport BID, the more you will be able to get back in return.
“They have been really supportive of what we have been doing here over the past five years.
“This is a really good time to be in Southport. Building work is currently taking place on the brand new Marine Lake Events Centre, with £73 million investment, not far from us.
“The new events centre is going to benefit us massively and I am really looking forward to seeing it operating.
“When it opens, it is going to give us a massive boost – not just for us, but also for all the guest houses and hotels near us, and so many other businesses in the town.”
Neil and Tom are now inviting people to come and join their celebrations.
Neil said: “We are really looking forward to our fifth birthday event at The Windmill on Saturday 4th November.
“We will have the brilliant Kelly Bond singing for us, there will be drinks offers, a buffet, a raffle, it’s going to be a great night.
“It’s definitely a milestone worth celebrating.
“We would like to say a huge thank you to all our customers, old and new, for all the support they have given us.
“However, there are also some people who still haven’t been into The Windmill – so we’d like to say to them, come down and give it a try!
“We are looking forward to our next five years and beyond.
“We will continue investing in the pub, making our outside area look even better with even more fantastic floral displays.
“We are also changing some of the furniture inside, bringing in more accessible tables.
“We’ll never stop improving.”
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