IT has no television or wifi but in an age where new technology is god, the first pub in Scotland to be blessed as a church has its own unique attractions.

Douglas and Denise Campbell, who run the  remote Crask Inn, in Sutherland, offer customers the chance to join in daily prayers with their pint.

As the pub was officially dedicated and blessed to hold church services Mrs Campbell, 53, said one of the secrets of its success was the old-fashioned art of conversation.

She said: “In this modern world we don’t always have to speak to people but we don’t have TV, we don’t have WiFi in the bar, so people communicate and chat, people come in and speak.”

Scotland has seen  more than 1,000 pubs close their doors in the last decade but Mrs Campbell said the inn is as popular as ever, with lots of regular return visitors.

She added: “We are 12 miles north of Lairg, the previous owners of the pub live in a cottage next door, but other than that there is no-one else here and last year we were surprised how busy it got, we get a lot of different people in the bar. We have regulars who come in every year on holiday, there are passers-by, cyclists and walkers, and those who live in Sutherland.”

A regular church service is held in the pub dining room on the third Thursday of every month and there are plans for a new Sunday evening service once a month.

Mrs Campbell said: “My husband and I also do daily prayers, at 7am and 5pm, in our private lounge and people are welcome to join us”

The pub, which started life as a drovers inn in 1815, was dedicated at a  ceremony conducted by the Most Rev Mark Strange, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, on Saturday.

The inn was gifted to the Episcopalian Church by previous owners Mike and Kia Geldard last February.

Mr Campbell, who is the bishop’s personal assistant and a licensed Eucharistic minister on the Chalice, agreed to move with his wife, from their old home in Moray, to take on the pub venture, with all profits going to the church.

The inn has four letting bedrooms and Mrs Campbell said they aim to convert an old barn to provide extra space for Christian groups to run workshops. She said: “I think the spiritual and religious aspect will increase but I don’t think the hospitality side of things will decrease, part of church life is hospitality.”