Football-mad dad builds 'old man' garden pub to watch Euros while caring for daughter

Ben Cullen, 34 said his wife, Erin Cullen, was shocked to learn of his plan to build something closer to home in order to help with their three-year-old daughter. The dad-of-one, who grew up frequenting pubs in Birmingham with his DJ father, has always appreciated the warm atmosphere of traditional pubs, which prompted him to create his own space to watch the game.

He began the project a few months before the Euros and decorated the area with England flags and a TV, hosting family gatherings for each match. As a cake artist experienced in DIY projects, he also installed a jukebox, fruit machine, and a toilet in his homemade pub.

Sharing his work on TikTok, Ben humorously captioned it: "Mrs: You're not going down the pub again. Me: Builds pub in garden."

Ben said that the pub, named "the Willow Tree" after their daughter, allows him to spend time with her. He explained: "I can't just say on a weeknight, 'good luck with Willow, I'm going to the pub.'"

Ben, from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, said: "It's all kitted out and ready for the Euros. At the start of the Euros, after England first played, the next day my wife didn't really understand (that I wanted to watch all the games). She was like,'You're going to be watching all the games? You're only supporting England?'

“It was hilarious. Putting up all the flags and decorations is more of a clue to her that I'm invested in this. We can see Willow playing outside too, so it's just perfect. Once you have a kid, you have this shared responsibility of a human, so I can't just say (to my wife) on a weeknight 'good luck with Willow, I'm going to the pub.'

“It's been ideal for that, it means I'm just at the end of the garden. (Erin) does like it but there's loads of jobs that need doing in the house and I'm building a pub in the garden. She's asking me to fix the skirting boards and I'm doing all these wacky projects. She subtly prompts me now, she says 'now that that pub is finished…' But she does love it, she came and sat in the other day and thinks it's amazing."

The pub features a fruit machine, jukebox, TV, toilet, and dartboard to mimic the feel of an authentic pub without the wait. Known online as the 'Bake King' for his 'illusion cakes,' Ben even tricked friends with a dartboard made of cake.

Ben stated: "I've really tried to capture that pub essence so I do feel like I'm at a real pub but with the benefits of no queues and my daughter can wander in or out. She's three so she's like 'can we go to the pub?' but it's just to the garden really. She's like, 'can we have dinner in the pub?' which is hilarious because she doesn't realise.

“You can roll straight into bed after, I only have to walk the length of the garden. No queues and it's cheaper. Friends absolutely love it. The dartboard was cake at one point. It's always the joke with me that people say they don't feel safe around me because they never know if something is cake or not. It's fun to just play with it to see if they can find the hidden cake."

Ben, a self-proclaimed pub enthusiast, hopes to inspire others to create their dream garden pubs, which has been a perfect addition for the summer. He said: "I love the pub. My dad was an old school DJ with his best mate. Pretty much every week they'd be in pubs and I'd love to go help him carry the equipment in.

“Proper old man style pubs have always been something that I've loved. I love seeing a really obscure-looking pub and stopping and going in. That warmth, in winter with the light coming in, I just think they're magical. I wanted it ready for this summer with everything going on.

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“We've had a few family parties so far and I think we'll have one on Saturday with the game being on. (After posting it online), I'm seeing a lot of wives getting tagged saying 'we could do this in our garden'. I think if people are thinking about doing it, they should just go for it."