The Sun Shines in Pickering

Our base for a couple of days at the south of the North York Moors was the market town of Pickering, where the Sun was the pick of the town's pubs. 
Here's what it looks like, along with a couple of other establishments that we visited..

Sun Inn (136 Westgate, Pickering, YO18 8BB - web)
We arrived to a friendly welcome at the Sun from both a local sat in the corner and the landlady who proceeded to serve us quickly with some lovely ales.
I snapped the picture of the empty room on arrival, but this filled quickly, with the pleasant back garden also proving popular thanks to the emergence of glorious evening sunshine
.

The real ale enthusiast who sat at the next table commended the landlady on having a fine choice of four beers which were all quite different from one another.
She thanked him and pointed out they'd actually got six cask ales and he'd missed the chocolate stout. 
And the Tetley's.
"Oh, I'm not counting that!" he admonished.

We settled down long enough to try a Half Moon Brewery 'Staycation' pale ale, a Helmsley Brewing 'Yorkshire Legend', and the  Nailmaker 'Choc Safari'.  All of which were quite wonderful.

Among'st a number of framed CAMRA awards on the wall was a memento of the 1975 Good Beer Guide in which the pub appeared...

The Sun is listed as being a "down to earth pub" serving Tetley Bitter.
The Lettered Board "haunt of market people, quarrymen and tourists" has not fared so well, closed and up for auction when we visited...

We found the pubs of Pickering remarkably popular with evening diners - some turned us away with a shake of the head, others displayed 'fully booked for food' signage out front.
Good for them, I guess.

The only place with room at the inn for us hungry souls was the Station Hotel, and I think they may have regretted giving us a table as they became a bit befuddled with their reservations a short while later.

Station Hotel (11 Park Street, Pickering, YO18 7AJ)
With a fine location opposite the North York Moors Railway station, the pub has three rooms in total, all with a modern touch to the decor.

Micro-dramas unfolded when a couple arrived and confused the staff by being part of a larger booking for four and a dog.
The fact that the other two and the dog hadn't yet arrived caused problems as another staff member tried to move them onto a table for two.  Finally the waitress took their drinks order and double-checked they were waiting for two more persons to arrive.
"And will there be anyone else joining you?"
"Yes, we're waiting for our two friends and a dog."
"And do you know what they'd like to drink?"
Er, nope!
How odd.

Retro phone to call in your Carling order

I can't even remember what I was drinking here.
We were just happy to have squeezed in and been fed and watered.

Moving on, at the top of Smiddy Hill is the Black Swan Inn...

Black Swan (18 Birdgate, Pickering, YO18 7AL - web)
First impressions weren't great: a 'pub closed' sign next to the door which turned out to be an out-of-date notice that they'd been shut on the eve of the Euro's final.

Confirming they were actually open, we headed inside where it's kitted out in modern decor, with coffee tables and leather sofas in the bar.
There's a little hint of an historic inn, but not a great deal of it's old character remains.

The final blow was a below-par pint of porter.

But then I discovered the beers came from the attached Breworks micro brewery.
The on-site brewery tempted me back for a second visit, this time sat outside under awnings in the rear courtyard, where giant wooden cable reels had been converted to tables.  The Simcoe pale ale was a well-served, enjoyable flavoursome pale ale, more than making up for the previous days dubious porter.

Al-fresco Simcoe pale ale

Which brings us to the final Pickering pub that we patronised...

Bay Horse (8 Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AA)
This is one of those pubs which could have been completely different on another day.  
It looks superb - that grand old coaching inn frontage with the main entrance tucked away to the side.
But it was in a state of semi-chaos at the tail-end of food service, the staff relieved to hear we just wanted a drink.  We trekked through the surprising number of multi-level rooms as the pub stretches to the rear until emerging into the car park which doubled up as beer garden.
It wasn't the most characterful of spots to drink my Black Sheep Best Bitter.  But as I say, another time, settled in the more traditional front room, and I may have thought it was great.

Pickering proved to be a handy and pleasant place to stop, all the better once you reach the evening and the mass traffic jam that runs through the town dies down.
There were a couple more pubs that we didn't visit, but I'm pretty certain nothing is going to steal the Sun's crown as the best in town.

In the next post: a bit of York heritage pubbing.

Cropton Pub Walk

An eight-mile walk (which felt a lot longer) taking in four village pubs just to the south of the North York Moors.
The last post finished at the village of Hutton-le-Hole, which was to be our starting point for today's walking.
Our route looked pretty much like this...

We knew we were on track to arrive in Lastingham too early for the pub's midday opening.  This gave us a choice of covering some extra terrain by looping onto the moors or going straight to the village and putting our feet up until the landlord unlocked the doors.

Whose foolish idea was it to add extra mileage walking uphill onto the moors? (it was mine)

After our diversion we dropped into the village and to the Blacksmith's Arms...

Blacksmith's Arms (Anserdale Lane, Lastingham, YO62 6TN)
Rocking up at 12:10 we'd been beaten to the dubious artificial grass furniture in front of the pub.
But we were very content in the small, cosy bar inside, pewter tankards dangling from the ceiling above us and an old cooking range to one side.

There was a fine beer choice: Theakston 'Best' or 'Old Peculiar', Saltaire 'Blonde', or Ryedale Brewing Company 'Bitter'.
I picked the Ryedale, being as it's very local to here, being brewed in the nearby village of Sinnington.  And this was a lovely quaffable traditional best bitter - most enjoyable.

Lastingham to Cropton presented the least obvious route, with whatever footpath we took leading to a final slog along the road.  As it was, we missed a turn and ending up taking a completely unplanned path which led to us emerging quite disheveled after crashing through 6ft high ferns.
We were just about presentable enough to be let into the second pub on our itinerary...

The New Inn (Cropton, YO18 8HH)
This was somewhere I'd been really keen to visit: a renowned country inn with it's own brewery to the rear (once the Cropton Brewery, now re-named the Great Yorkshire Brewery).
We opted to sit in the bar which retains a good pubby feel, despite the popularity of the New Inn as a dining destination.  There are several other rooms, a conservatory and the garden which was busy today in the fine weather.
From four available ales on this visit I tried the 'Yorkshire Moors' ESB and the 'Yorkshire Blackout' porter, both in tip-top form and very tasty as you'd hope when they're brewed 50 meters away.

Which way next?

We left the pub by a footpath through the nearby campsite, then took a moment to admire the lovely views...

Views, with the moors in the distance

This leg of the walk started nicely: navigating cows that insisted on blocking the path and then crossing a river in the woods.  But then we had a steady and seemingly endless uphill climb up a farm lane, with the sun beating down on us and the day getting hotter and hotter. 

I was sweaty and out of breath by the time we reached Appleton-le-Moors where it looked like everyone was taking a siesta.
There was no sign of life other than the sheep ambling along the village's main thoroughfare.

Fortunately the pub was still open, albeit bereft of customers before our arrival.

Moors Inn (Appleton le Moors, YO62 1TF - web)
This turned out to be quite a smart pub with brown leather seating and wine glasses laid out on tables in the dining room and immaculate loos with gleaming white tiles.  The bar itself retains a bit more traditional character and this is where we settled on a table next to a grand old fireplace and oven.
On the bar was a choice of Bradfield 'Farmers Blonde', 'Farmers Stout' or Tim Taylor Landlord. It was nice to see stouts available in a fair number of pubs we'd been to in Yorkshire, despite not being the obvious summer choice.   I can report that the Farmers Stout was delicious and disappeared very quickly.

All quiet at the Moors Inn

One last push to the finish line...
We followed the Tabular Hills walk, taking us through woods and alongside fields of crops until eventually we dropped back into Hutton le Hole.

This picturesque little village, home to some 150 folk, really is charming, with Hutton Beck running through the middle of it and the sheep free to roam.

The Crown (Hutton-le-Hole,YO62 6UA)
Okay, so I complained about the grey skies and rain on the coast a couple of days earlier and now I was proving I'm never happy by complaining about the sunshine.
Phew - it was hot on those picnic benches...

I enjoyed a York Brewery 'Guzzler' sat outside the Crown, a nice mellow pale ale with a sensible ABV, perfect to end the afternoon.

Next up: our pick of the pubs in Pickering

Moor Pubs

Discovering a Few Pubs on the North York Moors

We're starting in the NE corner of the moors, an area that was to prove especially frustrating to the pub-ticker, with a number being closed or having very limited opening hours.
The one local Beer Guide entrant that was open on a Sunday lunchtime was in the village of Egton.

The Wheatsheaf Inn (Egton, YO21 1TZ - web)
This Grade II-listed 19th century pub is a beer guide regular having consistently made an appearance for the past 21 years.
The place is, according to WhatPub, "a renowned first-class restaurant".  And folks evidently know that, with a blackboard outside stating that they're fully booked for food.

Due to that, we barely got a glimpse inside the pub, our only option being to sit on the picnic tables in the sunshine out front.
The next tables were occupied by a couple of extended family groups, the alpha males of which stood with their lagers comparing notes on how their large cars had handled the winding country lanes leading to Egton.  Not really perfect pub chatter, then.

The guest beer, a Helmsley Brewing Co 'Striding the Riding' was a tasty refreshing pale ale, in good condition and ideal as a lunchtime ale outside the pub.
A nice place but it would have been a better visit if we'd avoided a stressed Sunday lunch service.


Here's the one that got away...

I'd been really keen to visit the Birch Hall Inn at Beck Hole, but it wasn't to be on this occasion as the pub hadn't reopened in times of Covid restrictions.
I'd checked beforehand and knew this, but still had to pop by and make sure. 
Damn, I hate it when I'm right!

A mile uphill from Beck Hole is the village of Goathland (population 438).
This village is a tourist hot-spot.  Not only does it attract walkers and steam train enthusiasts, but also film and TV fans, with the village doubling up as Aidensfield in the series Heartbeat, and the station moonlighting as Hogsmeade station in the Harry Potter films.

We took a leisurely circular walk along a couple of footpaths which led us to Mallyan Spout waterfall.

Wikipedia gives us the kind of no-nonsense short post about the waterfall which kinda suggests it doesn't need a page of it's own:
"Mallyan Spout is a waterfall in North Yorkshire, England, the tallest waterfall in the North York Moors".
Yes it is.  And here is...

The 70ft tall Mallyan Spout waterfall.
I did pose for a photo at the bottom of it.  I did get wet.

A path brings you back from the falls to the far end of the village, depositing you next to the hotel which takes its name from waterfall.  They know full well you've worn yourselves out with a short uphill walk and earned a refreshment break, with signs advertising the coach house coffee shop and the hotel bar.

Mallyan Spout Hotel (Goathland, YO22 5AN - web)
An entrance to the right leads to a public bar, whilst the rest of the ground floor is taken up by lounge, restaurant and a cosy little private bar for hotel residents.
Cask ales available were Timothy Taylor 'Landlord' and a Black Sheep 'Bitter'.  I had my first Landlord of this trip and found it in great form and eminently drinkable here.

Mallyan Spout Hotel, Goathland

The next day we were a little further west in the village of Danby.  A rather damp bit of walking on the moors ensued before we dropped back down to the village at midday where we found the Beer Guide-listed Duke of Wellington pub with lights off and door firmly shut.
A 3pm opener that I hadn't checked properly beforehand.

A kindly local from across the road saw us looking downcast - "you looking for somewhere open?" he called, before directing us on a 15-minute walk to the nearest hostelry at neighbouring Ainthorpe.

Fox and Hounds, Ainthorpe

Fox & Hounds Inn (45 Brook Lane, Ainthorpe, YO21 2LD - web)
Located facing the village green, this one-time coaching inn dates back to 1555.
It consists of three interconnected buildings with the bar being in the central one.  This was a pleasant room with lots of dark wood, beamed ceiling and a grand fireplace at one end with a handful of locals sat next to it.
I don't recall if there was a choice of beers here, but I had an enjoyable Theakston's Best Bitter alongside my (disappointingly average) ploughman's lunch.

Heading west from here took us to Castleton and onto the road across the moors, half way along which is a remote inn.
As locations go, this is pretty spectacular...

Spectacular shot of the Lion Inn

Lion Inn (Blakey Ridge, YO62 7LQ - web)
The pub is situated above the Rosedale and Farndale valleys on Blakey Ridge (population: the pub).
This location is 1,325ft (404m) above sea level, making it Yorkshire's second highest pub after the Tan Hill Inn.

Less spectacular shot of the Lion Inn

It dates back over 400 years, originally a trading post, before later gaining custom from coal miners and ironstone miners, with the area around littered with old workings.

For somewhere so remote it was far from quiet, with the three interconnected bar areas all busy when we arrived.  We just managed to get a table, with a great wooden settle next to us and Whitbread Trophy mirror hanging above us.
It' has an impressive interior with stone floors and beamed ceilings and lots of character.  It would certainly be lovely in the winter-time as a retreat from cold weather with the fires alight, although not quite lovely enough for me to want to get stuck here for 12 days as I read 2 customers and 5 staff members did in the winter of 2010 when huge snowdrifts cut them off.

The route southbound from the Lion Inn eventually drops you down to another charming touristic village, Hutton-le-Hole.
Set back a little from the road with a grand pub sign and a small island of picnic tables in front is The Crown.
And it's here that I'll end this post - Hutton-le-Hole serves as the start and end point of the following days walking, in which we'll explore a few pubs on the south edge of the moors and sample a well earned ale in the Crown at the end.

The sun shines on the Crown Inn, Hutton-le-Hole

Whitby to Staithes on the Cleveland Way

In which we walk the 11.7 miles from Whitby to Staithes, following the Cleveland Way along the coast, and taking in a couple of pubs en-route.

The Great British Summer weather conspired against us, delivering low-lying cloud and drizzle on the morning that we'd planned to tackle this walk.  But we refused to be beaten, setting off after breakfast from our Whitby guest house.

Nice weather for it

The path took us along the tops out of Whitby, navigating the golf course via a dull bit of road-walking, before we were able to drop onto the lovely wide beach at Sandsend.

Sandsend

From Sandsend, the path follows the route of the dismantled Whitby to Loftus railway line, but we were quickly faced with that familiar feature of coastal paths - the 'diversion due to landslip'. 
This meant a steep climb to get the muscles burning early-on, before dropping us back down by an equally steep track, returning to the rail route.  There's more climbing up some wooden step ladders at the point where the railway would have entered the Sandsend tunnel. 
We were all set for tramping by torch-light through the tunnel, but there was a strange micro-climate chill by the entry to the tunnel, bringing to mind the kind of things that would lurk in here in Stephen King novels. 
And more importantly, it was 1.5km long and firmly locked shut.

A few miles further on, after walking through the mist on the high cliffs, we eventually dropped down to the sandy beach at Runswick Bay.  Just as the drizzle developed into proper rain.

Too wet to sit and admire the views at Runswick Bay

The clock had ticked past midday and we needed food, beer and shelter.
But I was unconvinced by the Royal Hotel, nestled among the houses on the hillside overlooking the bay, and looking distinctly un-pubby.

Un-pubby
(probably because it's missing all the signage which shows on it's web pictures)

My mind was changed when we walked up the alleyway alongside the hotel where outdoor toilets and a Black Sheep lamp above the door were both positive signs.

Royal Hotel (Runswick Bay, TS13 5HT - web)
We were seated in front of the bar and quickly served with a Bradfield 'Farmers Blonde' (Black Sheep bitter being the other beer available).
The chap who pulled the pints stayed firmly rooted behind the bar, leaving the serving of the tables to his young accomplice.  Unfortunately, this fella was reminding me of some of our most disastrous work experience placements in years gone by.  Intently studying his feet and prone to forgetting that his room full of customers may need something, he was struggling to make the link that people asking for menu's may actually lead to them wanting to order food. 

But I'm being unfair.  It took him a while to get in the swing of things, but he improved, tables were served, and we ended up with some very enjoyable and tasty food.
The place filled up with as many dogs as people and it turned into a great lunchtime stop.

Leaving the Royal Hotel we were briefly teased that it may have brightened up.
At least until we'd climbed above the bay, back on higher paths, when it  got progressively wetter and muddier and it became hard work to keep the spirits up.

We reached Port Mulgrave, where we diverted inland along a lane to reach Hinderwell, the location of our next pub... 

Brown Cow (55 High Street, Hinderwell, TS13 5ET)
This was a pub with a listing in the Good Beer Guide which says: "Real pubs like this are hard to find! Between the moors and the coast, and with a newly refurbished interior, but still reminiscent of walking into somebody's 1960s front parlour."

And it was a great place, where even the chap with his irritable and persistently crying youngster was not going to dent my enthusiasm.
Just look at that cracking front room: proper pub carpet, fireplace, Yorkshire darts, sleeping dog and dozing local...  All good stuff.

A couple more locals came back out of hiding when the child appeared to have fallen asleep, reunited with their pints and chatting about some chap in Middlesbrough who'd been a money-lender and safe-cracker.

I probably slipped up by picking the guest beer of the two real ales available - a very light blonde 'Life's a Lemon' by Pennine Brewing Co, whereas this was a pub in which to have a good traditional best bitter.

One final bit of walking and we made it to our intended destination, dropping down into the charming fishing village of Staithes.
I'd previously seen the wonderful location of the Cod and Lobster, although today it was missing the backdrop of blue sky and azure water that I'd had in mind...

Cod and Lobster Inn (High Street, Staithes, TS13 5BH - web) 
The two rooms inside were surprisingly busy for 4pm on a midweek afternoon, relegating us to searching out the driest of the picnic benches under umbrellas outside.  In different weather I suspect it would be the other way around, with the outdoor seating offering a lovely view of the harbour.
We were quickly served, selecting the guest ale which was a Helmsley Brewery 'Howardian Gold'.

Leaving Staithes, we climbed the steep streets back to the main road in time to catch the Aviva bus back to Whitby.
With the legs aching after the day's exertions, would we still be able to make it up the 199 steps to the abbey?
As we were driven by the knowledge there was a brewery at the top of them: yes!

Whitby Brewery Tap (East Cliff, Whitby, YO22 4JR - web)
Apparently there is usually a small indoor bar and the opportunity to drink alongside the brewing kit, but when we visited this was all closed with only courtyard seating available.

Outdoor seating with no shelter, so it was just as well that it had stopped raining, although I admit to having a bit of a soggy bottom by the time we left.

Dull weather aside, this was a brilliant location and well worth visiting.
It's fantastically situated, with the remains of the abbey next door.
I was thoroughly enjoying the music in the background (Huey Lewis & the News - oh yes!) and thoroughly enjoying the beer.
Firstly the 'Saltwick Nab', a deliciously drinkable 4.2% bitter, before moving on to a 'Black Death' 6.66% porter which was quite superb.

In conclusion, a day of much wetness and grey skies...  But we'd gotten some good exercise, found some nice pubs and ended with pizza and beer at a brewery tap.  Which goes down in my book as a bit of a success!

Next Up: we're on the North Yorkshire Moors...

Whitby Pub Explorations

18-miles up the coast from Scarborough, our next point of call was Whitby.  Alongside plans to do a bit of walking and sightseeing, take in the sea-air, spend some money in the amusement arcades and eat more chips, we aimed to visit all the current Good Beer Guide listed pubs.
And here's how that went...

Earlier, we'd started the day with a Wetherspoon's breakfast in Scarborough. In a bid to be fed all day by the chain, we found ourselves in Whitby 'spoons for a late lunch - not a pub I'd intended to visit, but when it came to food, it was the easy option...

The Angel Hotel (1 New Quay Road, Whitby, YO21 1DH - web) 
This hotel by the port has been a fixture in Whitby for many years, serving as a coaching house since the 18th century.
Refurbished in 2013 this is now one of Wetherspoon's hotels, with 34 bedrooms up above the two floors of bars.

On this visit only the ground floor and outside seating was open, which made it all rather busy and hectic.
I offer no indoor picture of the pub - as I've found in a few places, the dividing screens throughout prove very un-photogenic.  Not that this low-ceiling room would have ever looked especially photogenic anyway. 

The Angel Hotel has a place in local railway history, being the location of 1832 meetings where the practicality of creating a train line from Whitby across the moors was discussed. Engineer Robert Louis Stevenson was to recommend making Pickering the other end of the line and it was opened four years later in 1836.

And it was to the station we were headed next...

The Waiting Room (2 Whitby Station, Whitby, YO21 1YN)
Having read that this micro pub was six-yards-square, I was keen to get there on the dot of it's 5pm opening time to ensure we secured a table.
Yet still I was beaten by about 6 folks who were even more eager than me.

This is a micro in the authentic mould - no lager or spirits, just six cask ales, ciders and some classic international bottled beers, in a room with no music or TV to distract.

The old station waiting room has been converted to contain the bar and six tables, with additional seating out on the platform.  There's railway memorabilia throughout and a wall-full of pump clips of beers previously served.

From the list of Yorkshire ales displayed on a whiteboard by the door, I picked the 'Gangway Gold' by Little Eaton Brewery. 
And doesn't it look great...

I really liked the Waiting Room, but I'm sure someone wanting a seat appreciated us vacating our table as we moved on, heading across the River Esk to the Eastern side of Whitby.

Across the swing bridge, there are enough pubs along the cobbled streets in this part of town to keep you busy all evening, but we stuck with the Beer Guide and made our way to the Black Horse...

The Black Horse (91 Church Street, Whitby, YO22 4BH - web)
Church Street is one of the oldest streets in the oldest bit of Whitby, so it makes sense to find one of the town's oldest pubs here.  It dates back to the 1600's when it was previously known as the White Horse Inn, with the current building being erected in 1823.
The front room looked to be the most characterful but was full, so we had to settle for the back bar, accessed through a side door on the passage.  This proved to be a simple, unfussy, pub room.

We opted for the Hambledon Brewery 'Bootleggers Pale' from the four cask ales available, along with some Yapas - Yorkshire tapas - in this case a board of tasty local cheeses and home-made chutney.

This was Sunday evening, when there was some sort of football match on.
Lots of folk had pulled their replica kits out the wardrobe, cars had plastic St George's flags attached to them, and chants of 'Eng-ur-land!' emanated from the quayside from people who possibly starting drinking a little too early.

We found somewhere to avoid the build-up, with the Arch & Abbey a football-free zone.

Arch & Abbey (2-4 Skinner Street, Whitby, YO21 3AJ)
Back in the western part of town and uphill from the quay, the Arch & Abbey is a recently opened micro pub (although it seems pretty big in comparison to the Waiting Room).
This used to be a traditional ladies dress shop, with the lovely old fashioned windows and clock retained.
Four hand pumps dispense cask ale, with a few craft keg options, cider, or the local Whitby gin also available.  Presented with this choice, I ordered a thoroughly enjoyable pint of stout by Hilltop Brewing Co.

The super-size dog steals the limelight

Ultimately, I couldn't ignore the Euro's altogether - I purchased a 2-pint take-out of Empire Brewing's 'Golden Warrior' from the Arch & Abbey and retired to our B&B to watch the match.

One day later...
Football had curtailed our quest to get around the Beer Guide pubs on Sunday evening - the Station Inn had been busy, the doorway blocked by bulky security staff.  We headed back, when it was much quieter...

Station Inn (New Quay Road, Whitby, YO21 1DH - web)
This has a fine location opposite the harbour and train station, but I'm afraid I didn't really warm to the Station Inn: maybe it was awkward little table in a corner we were put on, maybe just a deflated Monday evening atmosphere, the poptastic soundtrack failing to boost the spirits.
I picked the most local of the ales on offer - an Abbey Blonde by Whitby Brewery, which was in good condition and an enjoyable enough light, fruity beer.

A short walk took us to our final pub...

Little Angel (18 Flowergate, Whitby, YO21 3BA - web)
Could this be named after Scarborough's premier 80's hair metal band the Little Angels?
(Ha!  That's taking me back to my youthful musical taste and long hair and cowboy boots!)

There was certainly a very rocky soundtrack on our visit.  The barman tried to skip forward the Limp Bizkit track, but re-started it after a minor customer protest.

The Little Angel consisted of three rooms connected to the main bar, as well as outdoor seating on a back patio.  At the time, Covid restrictions were still in place, scuppering the chance to explore the place properly (I got told off - hopefully for the last time - for lingering too close to the bar reading the beer list).

Those beers come from the on-site Lady Luck Brewery, with a varied selection taking in several different styles.  

With that, we'd completed all the current Beer Guide entries, although there are many more pubs and bars in this wonderful seaside town.

Join me in the next post when I endeavour to walk up the coast path in the rain and tackle the steps to the abbey to visit the Whitby Brewery.  Cheers! 🍻