Surrounded by beautiful countryside with lots of walks and bridleways, the award-winning Red Lion is a 200 year-old Georgian building on the village green in Preston near Hitchin. It is a free house and a real ale pub; many of the ales are sourced from micro-breweries from around the country. The Pub has lawns to the rear offering an attractive beer-garden. In the Winter an open fire provides a cosy pub atmosphere. The Red Lion serves home-made food with a roast on Sunday using local produce. In October 1982, it became the first community-owned Public House in the UK.