A tiny rural pub in Monmouthshire is celebrating an extraordinary run of recognition after bringing home another community award – this time from the House of Commons in Westminster.
The Halfway at Tal-y-Coed, between Abergavenny and Monmouth, was named the Welsh winner of the Community Support Hero Award at the PubAid Community Pub Hero Awards 2026 on Tuesday 8 September.
The latest success follows a remarkable few months for owners Rhiannon Metters and Jason James, whose efforts to develop their traditional country pub into a thriving rural community hub have now received recognition at both Welsh and UK level.
In April, The Halfway won the Local Community Award at the Wales Food & Drink Awards 2026, recognising the work being done through the pub and its community initiative, Pubtopia CIC.
That was followed by a Heart of the Community Award from the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII), an award which celebrates the vital role pubs play within their communities and recognises those going far beyond simply serving food and drink.
The Halfway was then officially shortlisted in The Telegraph's National Pub Day Competition 2026, part of its Save Our Pubs campaign. From 1,278 entries from across the country, The Halfway was selected as one of the Top 50 pubs in Britain.
In its letter confirming the achievement, The Telegraph said The Halfway had stood out to its judges as “a shining example of how important Britain's pubs are to local life.”
The nomination came from one of The Halfway's own regular customers, who praised Rhiannon and Jason for bringing their local community together in an isolated rural area and highlighted the creation of the pub's village shop.
The latest recognition took Rhiannon and Jason to Westminster, where they attended the PubAid Community Pub Hero Awards at the House of Commons as finalists before discovering that The Halfway had won the Community Support Hero Award for Wales.
Rhiannon said:
“It's been a bit surreal. We're a tiny pub in the middle of the Monmouthshire countryside and within a few months we've gone from winning the Wales Food & Drink Award, to being recognised by the BII, being named in The Telegraph's Top 50 and now bringing an award home from Westminster.
“But what means the most is that all these organisations are recognising the same thing – the importance of pubs to their communities.
“The Halfway isn't just somewhere to come for a pint or a Sunday lunch. For some people we're their local shop, somewhere to meet other people, somewhere to join an activity or simply somewhere they know they'll receive a warm welcome.
“We're incredibly proud, but none of this belongs to Jason and me alone. Our customers, volunteers, local suppliers and the organisations that work alongside us are what make The Halfway what it is.”
The Halfway has increasingly developed its role as a community hub in a rural area with limited public transport and few services within walking distance.
Alongside the traditional pub, its work has included a village shop supporting local producers, dementia-friendly sessions, community events, monthly charity quizzes, live music, creative and wellbeing activities and projects aimed at tackling loneliness and rural isolation.
The next stage of that work is being developed through Pubtopia CIC, a community interest company established to create further opportunities and services based around the pub.
Plans include expanding access to locally produced food through the village shop, developing health and wellbeing initiatives and creating more opportunities for people of different ages to connect.
The remarkable run of recognition follows another significant moment for The Halfway in December 2025, when Rhiannon was invited to 10 Downing Street as part of a Small Business Showcase, highlighting businesses making a difference within their communities.
Rhiannon added:
“When we bought The Halfway, we wanted to save our local pub. We couldn't have imagined where that decision would take us.
“Running a small rural pub is incredibly challenging at the moment, and there have certainly been times when we've wondered how we would keep going.
“That's why this recognition matters. It shows that pubs like ours still have an important role to play and that sometimes the smallest places can make a surprisingly big difference.
“We've still got lots more we want to do – so hopefully this is only the beginning.”
