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From the
https://www.newsshopper.co.uk By Amy Clarke 4th July 2025.
Biggin Hill's Flying Machine pub seeks new landlord.
A Biggin Hill pub recently spotlighted in a popular TikTok video is now
looking for a new landlord.
The Flying Machine, tucked away on Kings Road, is available on a fixed
term tenancy through Stonegate Group.
It’s expected to bring in an annual turnover of just over £315,000, with
weekly rent set at £403.
There’s a single bar, a separate games room with darts, pool and Sky
Sports, a garden on a lower level, and parking for around 20 cars.
The pub sits right in the middle of a residential neighbourhood, a short
walk from a shopping parade, and there’s a bus stop directly outside.
Stonegate is looking for someone hands-on and community focused,
possibly a first-time landlord, who can bring fresh energy to the pub.
There’s room to grow trade, maybe start up local teams for darts or
pool, and improve the drinks offer.
One of the company’s regional managers called it a fantastic opportunity
to turn the pub into the heart of the local area.
While the business side is promising, the Flying Machine has also picked
up some cultural attention.
A video by the TikTok account LondonDeadPubs gave the pub a bit of
unexpected fame earlier this year. Narrator Jimmy Mac described the hunt
for hidden pubs like this one as something close to an obsession.
He describes the Flying Machine as exactly that kind of place — remote,
characterful, and strangely beautiful.
It’s not near a train station or a busy high street, and Mac suggests
that’s part of its charm.
In the video he said: “It’s frequented solely by people who are trapped
here. Biggin Hilites, Biggin Hillians, whatever you call them. Tom
Cruise is apparently one.”
He also praises the building’s unique look and feel.
He said: “Marvel at its Pentecostal church exterior, fall head over
heels for its rich cerulean carpet, go gaga for its perfect sixties
mahogany bar.”
He notes that a pint of Stella costs £4.70 and jokes: “I could quite
honestly spend all day at the Flying Machine, and with Stella at four
seventy, I can afford to too.”
The tone is light-hearted, but there’s a serious message underneath. Mac
ends with a call to action for pub lovers.
He added: “Village pubs are rarely this charming and weirdly
metropolitan, but they’re also, unfortunately, one of the hardest types
of pub to run.
“If you can make a trip out here to Biggin Hill, or Addlestone, Abbots
Langley, Aveley, the fringes of the city are where the real magic
happens. Drink in their public houses before they all fly away.”
Whether the Flying Machine keeps flying now depends on who takes it on
next. |
