NINE more Greene King pubs in Oxfordshire will reopen from Thursday, ahead of the bank holiday.

The pubs reopening are:

  • The Duke of Monmouth and Jude the Obscure (Oxford)
  • The White Horse (Abingdon)
  • The Acorn (Bicester)
  • The Prince of Wales (Didcot)
  • The White Horse (Headington)
  • The Lord Nelson (Wantage)
  • Ye Olde Cross Keys (Witney)
  • The Bystander (Wootton)

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Customers are able to book a garden table online, although people are also welcome to visit the pub outdoors without an advance booking.

Some pubs will have reduced opening hours and menus, and this information along with how to book, will have been updated on individual pubs’ websites.

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Greene King chief executive Nick Mackenzie said: “We are really pleased to be able to reopen further pubs outdoors and welcome back more our customers in time for the bank holiday weekend.

“Sadly, we are still not able to open a larger amount of our estate in April, but we know the vital role pubs play in communities and feel it’s important to open as many as we can to help people get back together once again.

“We are still looking forward to May 17 when we will be able to open many more of our pubs, and the all-important return to normality in June when the restrictions are fully removed, and we can start to rebuild our businesses.

“Until then, we hope for good weather for the bank holiday and onwards.”

The total number of Greene King pubs open in England will increase to 558 on Thursday.

Greene King Pub Partners tenants, which make up a further 875 pubs across England, will also be deciding on an individual basis whether to reopen their outdoor areas and are not included in the 558 managed pubs total.