16th May 2025
Written by Rachel Wallace
Striding determination: After their own experiences, Sam and Mark are determined to continue challenging themselves for MacMillan.
[Warning - This article is about serious illness (cancer)]
Our General Manager, Samantha Robinson joined Robinsons eight years ago, to steer the ship at the Queen’s Head in Troutbeck. No stranger to Cumbria or Troutbeck, Sam and her husband Mark took over the pub ahead of the re-opening in March 2017 having already spent 31 years in our great industry. She’s seen lots of changes to the operations of the pub in her eight years, but one thing that hasn’t changed is her love for the pub and the area.
This year, Sam and Mark are completing the Mighty Hike for Macmillan. A marathon sized walk around the Ullswater Way, starting at Dalemain Mansion to Pooley Bridge then Ullswater way and back. The challenge isn’t your average sign-up-to-push-your-limits, for Sam, Mark, and her son, this a hike with so much personal connection.
Three years after opening the Queens Head as a Managed House, the world stopped business as usual as the covid pandemic hit. However, this wasn’t the only challenge happening at the Queens Head. Sam was preparing to take on a second pub and oversee the Queens Head in Hawkshead too when the world re-opened in December 2020, she was ready to be the “Queen of the Queens” – title granted by our Head of Food Development, Nick Burns.
A few days prior to the opening of the Queens Head in Hawkshead, Sam was struggling with an earache and couldn’t get in to see the doctor. After a couple of appointments with a nurse practitioner with failed antibiotics and ignoring the pain to focus on work, Sam got an appointment with a locum doctor, the day before the pub was opening. The words that came out of the doctor’s mouth were a shock to say the least. There and then, Sam was told she’d got cancer. An appointment to fix something she felt was straightforward was the beginning of her next challenge.
“I went straight into ‘what do I need to do?’ mode. I called Simon, our Retail Operations Manager and headed back to the pub to see Mark, David Yip (now GM at Masons Arms). It was all very surreal. Thankfully, as managers we get access to BUPA, and I was quickly referred to all the services I needed. But, one week later, I received a letter saying I’d need to isolate – I had two pubs open, and I needed to go off work. Fortunately, in the coming weeks the pubs were closed for the second big lock-down, so that was one less concern. By 1st March I was receiving intensive treatment, five days a week, travelling up and down to Preston daily. I’d had lots of difficult ‘what-if’ conversations and by the time treatment started, it had spread further. They say the mixture of treatment I received was the most toxic, but I absolutely refused to give in to it. I’d be up at 6am, I’d do my hair and my makeup, I’d clean the flat and I’d ensure there was something ready for dinner. I fought through it. I took myself off painkillers three weeks after treatment which the hospital said was unheard of, but it was pure determination.
The time in the hospital was particularly difficult, everyone had to be alone due to covid. I made it my role to try to lift the spirits of everyone in the waiting room, talking to people and making jokes. I had my final treatment on 9th April, just four months after first receiving the news. It took until July to receive the results, and I’ll be honest, I’d already put myself back on the rota for the following week. The oncologist thought I was crazy and advised I took it very slowly. – I felt I had pubs to run; I couldn’t be taking it too easy. It was extremely hard work, and life at work has changed for me now, but I ploughed through, and I got back to work.
Nowadays I need to rest more, and I can’t do the crazy hours I put myself through beforehand, I notice it and I ensure I rest sufficiently and sit down to eat. The doctors can’t believe how much of my life I’ve got back to the level it was pre-cancer, they say it’s unheard of - and I think that motivates me even more to raise both awareness and funds for the vital services of Macmillan. They are worth their weight in gold, and I want to put back into the pot, you never know when you’ll depend on their support. Touch wood, I’m four years in remission this year.
The level of support I received from William [Robinson] and the company was incredible and I cannot thank them enough, even though the pubs weren’t open. I’d receive messages, calls, bunches of flowers, even the BII [British Institute of Innkeeping] reached out and sent flowers, there was a lot of support there. Mark and I got through it, the hardest part was being so isolated, but there was no way I was letting someone take the reins of the Queens Head, this is my pub!”
The Queens Head in Troutbeck has been touched by cancer recently too. Mikey, a member of the team lost his fight to cancer. His sister, Kerry, continues to work at the Queens Head, and has worked her way to Duty Manager. Sam, Mark, and the wider Robinsons family are immensely proud of everything she’s continuing to achieve, and they are determined to walk for him too. The walk is more than just an opportunity for sponsorship and fundraising; it’s a significant mark of determination and a reminder to keep going. If Sam’s story has inspired you, you can scan the share your support by clicking the button below.
