11 hours Ago By Annie Hesse
Imagine leaving your Northern Territory home at nearly 40 degrees heat to go on a winter adventure in Europe - only to find yourself trapped at a snowed-in 17th-century pub in a remote part of the UK. or signup to continue reading That's what happened to Katherine couple Paul and Naomi Wright, who were among nearly 30 people stranded at the Tan Hill Inn, Britain's highest pub, in North Yorkshire. The skies were clear when the travellers arrived at the iconic watering hole, but an arctic blast along with a severe snow storm brought freezing temperatures and masses of snow, leaving six staff members and 23 patrons stranded for days.
"We were here before the warnings started," Mr Wright told ACM's . "The snow came in after that, so this is where we've ended up. "(There was) a lot of eating, drinking, disco parties, board games, and movies at night.
" Mrs Wright said that while the roads were impassable, the situation could have been much worse. "It (was) cold and the roads (were) closed, but there are much worse places we could be stuck," she said. After days trapped at the pub, local farmers came to the rescue, clearing a path through the snow with ploughing equipment and enabling those stranded to make a dash for freedom.
"They came up to us and said that anyone who wanted to get out needed to get out now," Mr Wright said. "So we dug the cars out. Everyone in the pub was cheering and we pitched in together to get everyone's cars out.
The guys came up with the ploughs, lined us up and basically it was a mad dash back to the highway," he said. "If we didn't get out in that short time frame, we would have been there for another three or four days." Mr Wright said after having snowball fights, building snowmen and making snow angels, the family was now "due for some Aussie sunshine to let the bones warm up".
I am an award-winning media and communications professional with experience across print, digital, social and radio broadcast, as well as photography and videography. I am the NT Correspondent at Australian Community Media and I write for my hometown newspaper, the Katherine Times. I love telling people's stories, and I am passionate about giving those a voice who may otherwise remain unheard.
When I am not busy putting pen to paper, I spend time in my garden, go bushwalking or travel across the Northern Territory, Australia or the world. In my spare time I write, illustrate and publish books. I am an award-winning media and communications professional with experience across print, digital, social and radio broadcast, as well as photography and videography.
I am the NT Correspondent at Australian Community Media and I write for my hometown newspaper, the Katherine Times. I love telling people's stories, and I am passionate about giving those a voice who may otherwise remain unheard. When I am not busy putting pen to paper, I spend time in my garden, go bushwalking or travel across the Northern Territory, Australia or the world.
In my spare time I write, illustrate and publish books. Advertisement Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date. We care about the protection of your data.
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