PERCHED on the edge of Minchinhampton Common, the Black Horse in Amberley enjoys a superb view of the Stroud valleys.

Basking under the sun in the beer garden, customers can sip a pint while taking in the vista which stretches as far as May Hill.

Come wind, rain or shine the Black Horse has seating for all seasons and with autumn on its way visitors to the picturesque watering hole will be able to choose from the conservatory or, as winter sets in, sitting in front of the glow of a roaring fire.

The sprawling view is certainly something that the owners of the 400-year-old country pub – Paul Sugden, his sister Jessica Sugden and Debbie Rogan – are proud of, and which stands them in good stead to be strong contenders for the SNJs Pub of the Year competition.

After the success of last year’s inaugural competition, which saw hundreds of votes cast, the Pub of the Year contest is now under way for 2016.

Voting is open, so use the slip on page 16 of the SNJ to name your favourite pub and tell us why it deserves to win.

Anyone can vote, whether a member of staff or just a loyal customer, but we will only accept slips cut out from the newspaper as votes, not photocopies, to avoid any ‘tactics’ – we know how competitive the contest can get!

Although Paul, Jessica and Debbie have only been running the Black Horse for about a year and a half, they are confident that all the work that they are putting into building its reputation will pay off.

“We have warm and friendly staff and our customers are really happy with us being here,” said Paul, who refurbished the pub with new kitchen facilities, a fireplace and a conservatory when he took on the reins.

“Customers were worried about it closing so it’s nice to be here for the community.

“We’ve had a lot of support from the village and we’ve even drawn back some old customers who had stopped coming before we took over in March last year.

“I think it’s just the overall level of service that we offer that puts us on a winning streak and we have a great staff team on board.”

And what of its food offering?

“It’s been altered over the last six to eight months,” said Paul. “We have good quality pub food and we’ve been working on a range of burgers.

“We try and use as many suppliers as possible from the area so we have ingredients that come from producers nearby and a range of local ales and other drinks.”

For this year’s Pub of the Year there will be one winner for Stroud and a separate winner for the Dursley, Cam, Wotton-under-Edge and Berkeley part of the district.

This time around there will be no nominations for the finalists, just one round of voting, and whichever pub receives the most will be declared the winner.

The voting deadline is Friday, October 28, and the winner will be announced in the newspaper on November 2.

Like last year, the prize will be a trophy and a trip to Parliament with Stroud’s MP Neil Carmichael to have a tour of the House of Commons and sell your brewery’s beer in the famous bar there, as well as bragging rights.

In last year’s competition, which had just one winner for the whole of the Stroud district, The Falcon Steakhouse in Wotton-under-Edge claimed victory.

Landlord and head chef Andrew Starling said: “It was great to win the award – it definitely helped bring in plenty of new customers and it was great for business.”

To vote for a pub, fill in the slip in the paper and send it to Pub of the Year, Stroud News & Journal, 6 Lansdown, Stroud, GL5 1BE.

Photocopies will not be counted – only slips cut from the paper will be accepted.