Ms Townsend said the Noasis band had played on Friday night and since then had been mucking in with kitchen and washing up duties as well as the odd impromptu acoustic set.
“I’m relieved it’s Noasis rather than Oasis,” she said, adding that all remained jolly heading into the third night. “I have not heard of any marriage proposals but I’ve not heard of any divorces either.” On Saturday night a whip round for staff raised £300, presented to them in cash as a way of thank you.
Originally there were 61 people trapped but mountain rescue services reached the pub on Saturday and ‘collected’ one person with an ongoing health condition who needed treatment while a handful of others managed to escape in 4x4s driven by off-road enthusiasts.
The snow drifts reached first-floor windows and a tunnel had to be dug out of the front door of the pub to allow people to stretch their legs outside and give the dogs a run around. The pub remains cut off completely in one direction due to a fallen power line blocking the road while other routes out remain too dangerous to negotiate.
“The blizzards were horrendous, how the snow was drifting, it was going all the way up to almost the bedroom windows,” said Ms Townsend.
Whether the mood will remain so buoyant if they go into a fourth night is unclear – although drink and food supplies are plentiful. A Queen tribute act had been booked for Saturday, which meant the pub was well stocked.
Meanwhile, Storm Arwen continued to cause chaos across other parts of the country. On Sunday night forecasters warned the “coldest night of the season” was due to hit parts of the UK with temperatures predicted to drop as low as minus 10C (14F).
The Met Office said London plunged to minus 2C (28.4F) while issuing two yellow ice warnings – one across eastern parts of Scotland and another stretching from the north-east of England down to the south coast – from Sunday afternoon.
The warnings, set to last until Monday morning, say people should expect to see “icy patches” on roads and pavements, meaning accidents and slips and falls are “more likely”.
