At last! The day has finally come when pubs and bars across the country welcome back inside their patrons to enjoy a drink inside.

As lockdown restrictions ease across the country, pub-goers are finally being welcomed back inside for indoor drinks and socialising.

Over a year since the first lockdown closed all non-essential businesses, pubs, restaurants and bars have today started welcoming the first visitors many have seen inside since March 2020.

Rob Herron, manager of The Front in Falmouth, told the Packet that it hadn't been the initial rush he had envisaged, but that he did expect things to pick up once the sun went down and people finished work.

Rob said: "It's been fairly quiet actually, I overstaffed for today as I expected it to be quite busy, but its been a lot tamer than the first Monday (April 12).

Falmouth Packet: Regulars at the Front in Falmouth enjoying their pints.Regulars at the Front in Falmouth enjoying their pints.

"We did imagine that it would be, but it's actually been really nice.

"It's a nice start to being inside and everyone that's come in has been like 'wow, it's really nice to be back, you haven't changed the place too much.'

"I think we will have a busy night tonight, but we'll see, I think it's all weather dependant.

"Everyone's been outside, and if it's nice later on and the tables are full, then I think everyone will start coming inside.

Falmouth Packet: Students at The Packet Station in Falmouth making the most of the new rules. Students at The Packet Station in Falmouth making the most of the new rules.

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"In the evening when it starts to get a bit colder, we'll be in here, we'll have the fire on, and we'll start to get that atmosphere back.

"We've kind of got used to having our own personal pub, so when I came out today and someone was sat at a table it was a bit like 'woah.'

"We did a lot of prep in order to get people back in safely.

"We sorted the signage out, I've got a dry-fogging machine that creates a mist which is food and people safe, and it just fills the pub and kills everything.

"So we'll be doing that every now and again throughout the day alongside the usual wiping down and sanitising."

Falmouth Packet: Patrons of the Pennycomequick in Falmouth enjoying socialising together indoors. Patrons of the Pennycomequick in Falmouth enjoying socialising together indoors.

The easing of restrictions, as part of the government's roadmap out of lockdown, will have many people hoping that normality is soon to return and that life will continue to return to a pre-pandemic rhythm.

Experts, however, have urged for caution when returning to indoor venues, with some even going as far as to suggest that the latest relaxing of rules should be ignored in order to minimise the risk of Covid-19 and its variants once again rearing its head and putting us back into another lockdown.