THEY ARE rolling out the barrels and ringing the bells in the beautiful village of North Bovey near Moretonhampstead. The village's historic Ring of Bells, one of Dartmoor's most famous inns, has been sold in a deal that guarantees its long-term future.

Owners Tony and Brenda Rix have sold the Ring of Bells to Bolero Leisure Ltd, a syndicate made up of 14 friends who stay at the inn every May and September for golfing weekends at the nearby Manor House Hotel course.

Bolero Leisure – named after the friends' frisbee team in Battersea – paid £175,000 for the freehold of the manager's cottage, and an undisclosed sum for the 17-year business lease on the inn and its five double rooms. Mr and Mrs Rix are shareholders, and Mr Rix has become an executive director, remaining in place as landlord.

'We love the place and want to keep its character exactly as it has always been,' said Richard Williams, chairman of the syndicate.

His nickname is 'Who Can' because he can play golf, thus setting him apart from the group's other Richard Williams who is nicknamed 'Who Can't' because he cannot play golf.

'The foot and mouth crisis did not help us at all, and takings were way down,' said Mr Rix. 'North Bovey has very few permanent residents, so there is not much local trade, and we're dependent on visitors and walkers. The pub had become too big, and last year we closed the large bar and converted it into staff accommodation.

'Besides securing the future, the other advantage of the sale is that we now have 14 different experts with their skills "on tap", from web design to marketing and finance. Nick Matthews, for example, is marketing director for Newsweek.'

The 'Boleros' met at Bristol University in 1972, and despite going their separate ways after 1975 they have remained firm friends ever since.

l Turn to page three.

By coincidence the group was Mr and Mrs Rix's first booking back in 1988, and it was during their September visit last year that the Boleros decided to buy the Ring of Bells.

'We heard of Tony and Brenda's problems, and David Parlby - our handicap secretary - suggested that we should all buy a share in the Ring of Bells,' said Mr Williams. 'We all thought he was mad, but the idea took off. First it was possible, then it was feasible, and then it was done.'

In fact the outline deal was agreed within a week, but it was sealed only recently.

The Boleros are full of plans for the future, and have set up a website (http://www.ringofbellsinn.com">www.ringofbellsinn.com) and used a printing contact to produce 3,000 copies of an attractive (and spill-proof) brochure. They are promoting the Ring of Bells as the ideal centre for a range of activity breaks, from golf, walking and fishing to painting, birdwatching and cycling.

They are sure that the same qualities that have drawn them back year after year to this beautiful village - with its thatched cottages and tree-lined green - will appeal to many others for years to come.