AN AWARD-WINNING Dorset pub has gone up for sale for a cool £325,000.

The Gaggle of Geese pub at Buckland Newton has gone on the market as the owners want to spend more time with their young family.

Mark and Emily Hammick have seen the pub gain plaudits from television chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and claim accolades such as Best Local Pub in the Taste of Dorset Awards 2011 and Best County Pub in the Dorset Food and Drink Awards last year.

It was also voted as one of the top 100 Pubs by Famous Grouse and the Daily Telegraph as well as being awarded the Community Pub Award from Alistair Sawday’s Pubs and Inns 2009 and earning glowing reviews from the Michelin and AA pub guides.

Mark and Emily, who took over the pub in 2008, said they are offering up a real piece of the local community.

Mark said: “Buckland Newton is a thriving popular village with a village school, shop and post office, church and a number of small businesses in a close-knit community along with many clubs and societies. “The pub offers a great opportunity for a couple to run not just a business but to have a lovely lifestyle and be the centre of a dynamic community.

“We went back to pub basics with the bar looking like all pubs used to, that is to say someone’s front room where you can lounge in front of the fire on some comfy sofas.”

The pub offers a venue for local skittles and cricket teams as well as hosting a village fete and fireworks night in aid of the village school.

The Gaggle of Geese is also famous for its biannual charity Goose Auction, which has raised over £20,000 for local causes over the years.

The sale of the pub is being handed by Colliers International’s which is inviting offers of over £325,000, with the price including four acres of land boasting an orchard and paddocks.

Hotels division director for Colliers Peter Brunt said: “This is an outstanding country pub in one of the prettiest parts of the country and remains deservedly popular with locals and tourist trade.

“Mark and Emily have done a fantastic job running the place since 2008. “There really is so much more to ‘The Gaggle’ than most village pubs, I have never had to sell a property which includes an option on the livestock too.”

All enquiries should be directed to the agents Peter Brunt of Colliers International on 0117 917 2000.