The co-owner of a Wrexham pub has spoken of his pride and the "immense" amount of work they put in having clinched a prestigious title.

The West Arms, in Llanarmon Dyffryn-Ceiriog, has been named the best pub in Wales at The National Pub and Bar Awards 2022.

The West Arms originally came out on top in the Clwyd category in the awards, which covered Wrexham, Denbighshire, and Flintshire but has now been named the best in the country.

READ MORE: The best pub in Wrexham, Flintshire and Denbighshire has been named

The awards looked at the overall best practice across a number of operational categories and The West Arms ticked all the right boxes.

Co-owner of the inn Mark Williamson said: “There is quite a long process, it’s been going on throughout the year, you get mystery shopped and then you get interviewed, but I think it’s a fantastic process and it couldn’t have gone to a better place.”

The Leader: Mark and Nicky Williamson (image: Thea Bronlund)Mark and Nicky Williamson (image: Thea Bronlund)

On the win, Mark added: “(It means) recognition for all the hard work we put into hospitality at the end of the day and it's immense what we put in. Everybody in the hospitality industry is the same but it's nice to be recognised for what we do.”

READ MORE: Wrexham pub crowned the best in Wales

The West Arms has lots of history and character to experience, and the atmosphere makes it stand out according to the co-owner.

He said: “Once you come through the front door the whole journey of what we’ve done and how the place looks just comes to a fantastic end when you come out the back door at our back garden which looks completely over the Berwyn mountains. It’s just endless the view that you can see. It’s just stunning.

The Leader: The beer garden (image: Catch22)The beer garden (image: Catch22)

“We’re going to strive to do more and get better. We’re building a fantastic team here as we speak, which is hard to do in these present times, but people are actually coming to us rather than having to go to them, so we’ll just keep those qualities going forward.”