A LYDFORD couple are celebrating after their inn was named 'Dining Pub of the Year' by the Good Pub Guide 2004.

Karen and Philip Burgess have steered the Dartmoor Inn towards success, and built a good reputation for fine food since taking over as proprietors five years ago.

Their latest accolade comes at the same time as the pub's inclusion in Diana Henry's Gastropub Cookbook, where it is one of her top three chosen pubs.

Karen said: 'Last year we won the Devon Pub of the Year, but to win the national one a year later is just incredible.'

She said her and Philip had made drastic changes since buying the pub.

'I think we've really turned it around — we feel we're now a living part of the community.

'Running a pub is an exhausting business but it's very interesting because it brings you into contact with so many different people.'

The Dartmoor Inn has always had a special significance for the couple because it is where they first met as teenagers.

'I used to stay here on family holidays from the age of about five,' explained Karen.

'When I was 15 I got a holiday job waitressing here and met Philip who was working in the kitchen. He was brought up around the Okehampton area.'

l A WEST Devon guest house has received a prestigious accolade from the AA.

The motoring organisation awarded Moor View House, Lydford, a Red Diamond certificate for its consistently high quality of accommodation, food, service and hospitality.

Wendy Sharples, who runs the four-bedroom guesthouse with husband David, was delighted with the award.

'We've had Black Diamond status for the last five years or so, and it's nice to get this, which is the next one up,' she said.

'We are obviously doing something right!'

Wendy said her previous experience as a care nurse and bereavement counsellor in Bristol helped her relate to guests.

'By working with vulnerable people you learn to listen, which is very important in making guests feel welcome,' she said.

'I'm very interested in finding out about our guests, where they come from and what they do.

'We get a lot of thankyou cards from people saying they were really made to feel at home, staying with us. That kind of thing makes all the hard work worthwhile, and it's probably the key to our success.'

Wendy and David have run Moor View House for almost 13 years, with Wendy doing all the cooking and housework while David does the shopping and tends the garden.

The hotel, which hosts dinners for private parties, has also had its RAC 'Little Gem' status renewed for the fourth consecutive year.