A RIVERSIDE pub has gone from strength to strength since it reopened with a new look - and a new name.

The former Waggon and Horses in Undershore Road, Lymington, is now called The Ferryman - a reference to its location near the Wightlink ferry terminal.

The pub is popular with people waiting for a ferry, meeting friends on the mainland or seeking sustenance after making the crossing from Yarmouth.

Formerly owned by Wadworth, the watering hole is run by Rory Spurway and his business partner Paul Stratton, who owns the King’s Head at Quay Hill, Lymington.

The two men lease The Ferryman from a company called Nova Walhampton.

The pub had been empty for several months when Mr Spurway and Mr Stratton took over last July. It was given a major facelift and re-opened two months later.

Rory, 31, said: “We’d been looking for another premises and thought about this one. We wanted to provide fine dining and are really pleased with the way things are going.”

Caroline Clough, the pub’s weekend manager, added: “It’s now a restaurant with a bar, rather than a pub.

“It re-opened on September 1 after being given a complete refurbishment. All the furniture is new and the name is more in keeping with where it is, being so close to the ferry.

“It’s a lovely, relaxed pub which is very welcoming and serves wonderful food. Our chef, John Egan, is fantastic.”

Reputed to have been a pub since the 1600s The Ferryman is full of spirits - including one of the non-alcoholic variety.

Part of the building is reputedly haunted by Henry Card, a 38-year-old gamekeeper who accidentally shot himself on the premises in September 5, 1893.

Mr Card is believed to have been taking part in an experiment triggered by a police investigation into the death of a man who appeared to have shot himself from behind.

He thought the shotgun he was handling was empty - and suffered fatal head injuries when it suddenly went off in the pub’s tap-room.

Caroline said: “People say they have seen him out of the corner of their eye, wandering around.”

The Ferryman overlooks the Lymington River. Directly opposite is the £80 million Lymington Shores development, which will deliver 168 luxury homes and a restaurant, plus shops, a rowing club and an art gallery.