A TRADITIONAL village pub has been named the finest in Oxfordshire by real ale experts and could now be crowned the best in the entire region.

Charlbury-based boozer The Rose & Crown in Market Street is Oxfordshire's pub of the year, according to the Campaign for Real Ale.

It was chosen as the north Oxfordshire branch’s best pub and then went on to top the list for the whole county when put up against winners from the three other Oxfordshire-based branches.

In August, it will go head-to-head with the county pubs of the year for Berkshire and Buckinghamshire for CAMRA’s regional pub of the year award.

A freehouse, the pub has been featured in the Good Beer Guide for 31 years in a row and is described as a strong supporter of local breweries.

It stocks real ales, ciders and craft beers from recently-established north Oxfordshire breweries Church Hanbrewery, Little Ox and OxBrew as well as offerings from more established brewers.

Landlord Tom Page along with son and daughter team Tommy and Nikki said they were delighted to win.

Nikki Page said: "It was really unexpected and we are totally thrilled to have won.

"We've been named the best pub in north Oxfordshire four times now and we were so pleased with that.

"It didn't occur to us that we might be named the best pub in all of Oxfordshire.

"I've never visited the pubs in the other counties so I'm not sure what the competition is like but if we did go on to win that as well it would be unbelievable.

"We don't have any expectations, we are just so pleased with all we have achieved so far."

The Royal Oak in Wantage was White Horse District CAMRA’s pub of the year for the second year in a row.

Oxford’s branch chose the White Hart in Headington and South Oxfordshire went for the Flowing Spring in Playhatch, near Henley.

Ms Page said that they had sought to establish the Rose & Crown ‘at the heart of the community’ with many clubs and societies using it as their ‘unofficial HQ.’

It also hosts regular live music, and has recently hosted live comedy nights, along with vinyl nights, DJ nights and jazz.

She said: "We are so lucky to have such loyal customers who have told us this is richly deserved - any many have sampled all the pubs in the area.

"The pub is its own little community. We never feel it is just ours, it belongs to everyone.

"We have everything from ukelele players to local group meetings, it's a hub of the village."

Despite the winning formula, Ms Page said that the pub is still constantly changing to keep up with the latest needs of customers.

Recent innovations have included redecorating and stocking more and more craft beers to satisfy punters changing drinking habits.

Any pub that is listed in the Good Beer Guide was eligible.