Yorkshire pub stays at six inns with rooms, from a 528-metre moorland pub to a Dales village green, with the facts on rooms, dogs and booking.
Most people picture a pub stay as a fire, a pint and a bed upstairs. That is the easy version, and Yorkshire does it well. The harder version is the one worth knowing about: pubs that sit so high or so far out that the weather decides how long you stay.
In late November 2010, snow cut off the Lion Inn on Blakey Ridge. Two guests and five staff were stuck there for more than a week. The pub’s co-owner told the Yorkshire Post: “It was fun at first, but I prefer this.” Six inns follow, from the moors to the Dales, each with rooms you can book and a reason to be there in winter.
Quick Facts
Region: North York Moors and the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire
Best for: Walkers, couples, dog owners and anyone who wants a night on the hill rather than in a town
Getting there: All six are rural, and most visitors drive. Postcodes: Lion Inn YO62 7LQ, CB Inn DL11 6EN, Black Bull DL11 6SZ, Blue Bell BD23 5QX
Time needed: One night per pub; two nights if you pair Reeth with Arkengarthdale
Yorkshire pub stays: what to check before you book
The six pubs here are not interchangeable, and the small print differs more than the menus do. Three checks will save you trouble.
First, dogs. The Black Bull in Reeth allows up to two dogs per room for £10 per dog per night, and asks you to mention them when you book. The Lion Inn allows dogs in some rooms and in the bar upon request, but not in the dining rooms. Tan Hill Inn describes itself as very dog-friendly, as long as dogs are well-behaved. Check before you go, because the rule changes from one door to the next.
Second, stairs. The Black Bull has no lift, and its rooms are reached by stairs. If anyone in your party has trouble with stairs, ask about ground-floor options when you book.
Third, booking direct. The Lister Arms in Malham says its best rate comes through its own website, and the same is a sound habit at the others. All six have their own pages, linked below.
Worth Knowing: The Black Bull requires a non-refundable £30 deposit per room at the time of booking, so read the terms before you confirm.
The Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge
The Lion Inn is marked “Est. 1553” and calls itself a 16th-century family-owned freehouse. Sources do not agree on the exact year; Wikipedia says it was completed between 1553 and 1558 and that monks are believed to have built it as a rest stop for people carrying coffins over the moors. Treat 1553 as the pub’s own date.
The setting is the point. The inn stands at 1,325 feet (404 metres), which the pub describes as the highest point of the North York Moors National Park. It is often called the fourth-highest pub in England and the second-highest in Yorkshire, after Tan Hill. From the ridge you look down into Rosedale and Farndale, and the building sits on the watershed between four valleys: Eskdale, Farndale, Rosedale and Westerdale.
Inside, the pub has open fires in ancient stone fireplaces and low-beamed ceilings. That is the sensory detail to hold on to in winter: the heat of a stone fireplace after a walk across an open ridge in the cold.
There are 13 bedrooms, each with a TV and tea and coffee facilities, and prices include breakfast. The bar is open from 11am to 11pm daily, and meals are served from 12pm to 9pm. Booking is recommended for the dining rooms, while the bar is unreserved. The inn is a waypoint on the Coast to Coast Walk, so you will share the bar with walkers in boots.
Where to Stay: The Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge, Kirkbymoorside, YO62 7LQ. Thirteen bedrooms, with breakfast included; dogs allowed in some rooms upon request.
Worth Knowing: The 2010 snow-in lasted more than a week, with sources citing eight to ten days, and left the pub’s staff calling it “the ultimate lock-in”.
Tan Hill Inn, near Keld
Tan Hill sits at 528 metres (1,732 feet) in Swaledale, near Keld, and the inn describes itself as Britain’s highest public house. Wikipedia notes that Guinness World Records lists it slightly above the Cat and Fiddle Inn in the Peak District, at 520 metres (1,690 feet). The gap is eight metres.
The inn has 12 individually styled en-suite rooms with countryside views, and it is very dog-friendly. The building has exposed beams and a stone-flagged floor, so the first thing you notice when you come in out of the wind is the cold stone underfoot and the warmth of the room around it.
The barn has hosted live music. The inn says the Arctic Monkeys, The Levellers and Mark Ronson once played impromptu gigs there. Rooms, restaurant tables and event tickets can all be booked online.
We have written a full guide to the pub, so use it for the walking and the history: Tan Hill Inn, Yorkshire’s highest pub.
Where to Stay: Tan Hill Inn, near Keld, Swaledale. Twelve en-suite rooms; dogs welcome if well-behaved.
Worth Knowing: The Lion Inn is often called the second highest pub in Yorkshire, behind Tan Hill, so the two make a natural pair for a high-pub weekend.
The Charles Bathurst Inn, Arkengarthdale
The Charles Bathurst Inn, known as the CB Inn, is an 18th-century inn in Arkengarthdale, a side valley running off Swaledale. It has 19 en-suite rooms, each individually designed with period furniture and views.
The position suits walkers. The inn stands at the edge of the Pennine Way, near the midpoint of the Coast to Coast walk, and beside the Stang, a cycling climb. The address is Arkengarthdale, Richmond, DL11 6EN.
The menu is seasonal and uses produce from local farms and game from the surrounding moors. Lunch runs from 12pm to 2.30pm (3pm on Sundays), and evening meals from 5.30pm to 8pm (8.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays). Breakfast is open to non-residents by advance booking, which is useful if you are walking through and want a proper start rather than a packed lunch.
The inn has dog-friendly pages for both dining and lodging, but the details aren’t on its home page, so ask when you book.
Where to Stay: The Charles Bathurst Inn, Arkengarthdale, Richmond. Nineteen en-suite rooms on the Pennine Way, close to the Coast to Coast route.
Worth Knowing: Breakfast at the CB Inn is open to non-residents by advance booking, so book ahead if you want to eat there on a walk.
The Black Bull, Reeth
The Black Bull stands on High Row in Reeth, a Swaledale village built around a large green. The Yorkshire Dales National Park lists the inn as dating from 1680, and both the park and the pub’s own site call it Reeth’s oldest surviving inn.
The building has flagstone floors, exposed beams and winter fires, which is the sensory picture in the Yorkshire Dales listing. Most of the en-suite rooms have views over Reeth and Swaledale. The pub’s own site lists doubles, kings and twins, plus a unisex bunk room for walkers on a budget. The bunk room is not open to under-16s, and dogs are not allowed in it.
Room rates include breakfast. Check-in is from 3 pm, and check-out is 10 am. There is no lift. Dogs cannot be left alone in rooms unless crated, and in the dining areas they are only allowed in the bar.
Food is prepared in-house, and the pub hosts live music and events. The address is High Row, Reeth, DL11 6SZ.
Where to Stay: The Black Bull, High Row, Reeth. En-suite doubles, kings and twins with breakfast included, plus a bunk room.
Worth Knowing: Dogs at the Black Bull cost £10 per dog per night, with a limit of two dogs per room unless you arrange more in advance.
The Lister Arms, Malham
The Lister Arms is a Grade II listed former coaching inn at the top of Malham village, overlooking a small green. Historic England records the building as dated 1723, three storeys tall and built of rubble with a stone slate roof. It was first listed on 20 February 1958.
Above the door is an oval datestone with the initial R and a carved wine glass. The inn says it does not know what the glass means, and suggests it may have been an invitation to relax. Historic England also notes a moulded lintel dated 1702 in a rear lean-to, reputedly from the demolished Buck Hotel. The inn is named after the Lister family, landowners who lived at Gisburne Park, about 12 miles away.
You can stay in rooms in the original inn, the Lister Barn, or the Lister Farmhouse, which the inn describes as boutique luxury. Malham Cove is a short walk away. The inn describes it as a 70-metre limestone cliff with 400 steps to the top, and says you can walk from the door.
The ivy is the first detail you see: the inn describes itself as ivy-clad, and its three-storey stone front is covered in it.
Where to Stay: The Lister Arms, Malham. Rooms in the original inn, the Lister Barn and the Lister Farmhouse, with direct booking recommended for the best rate.
Worth Knowing: The datestone reads 1723, but Historic England records a lintel dated 1702 in the rear lean-to, reputedly from the demolished Buck Hotel.
The Blue Bell Inn, Kettlewell
The Blue Bell Inn is on Middle Lane in Kettlewell, in Wharfedale. It calls itself Kettlewell’s oldest and best-loved hostelry, and the current team has run it since 2010. No founding date is given, so we do not give one.
Its approach to guests is plain. The inn says “mucky boots, muddy paws” are welcome, so this is the place for a wet-day walker with a dog. It offers en-suite rooms for walkers who would rather sleep above the bar than drive home.
Lunch is served from noon to 5pm and dinner from 5pm to 9pm. The menu includes Yorkshire-style meals, bar snacks and à la carte dishes. Weekly specials include a Monday steak night, a Wednesday curry night and a Sunday roast from 12pm to 8pm.
The inn’s pages refer to walkers returning after a long day on the hills, which is the right way to think of the place. You arrive muddy, you sit down, and you do not go anywhere else that night.
Where to Stay: The Blue Bell Inn, Middle Lane, Kettlewell, BD23 5QX. En-suite rooms, with dogs welcome.
Worth Knowing: The Sunday roast is served from 12pm to 8pm, so it suits a late finish off the hill.
Practical Tips
- Book direct. The Lister Arms says its best rate is on its own website, and booking direct also lets you ask about dogs and ground-floor rooms.
- Ask about dogs before you pay a deposit. Rules differ at the Black Bull, the Lion Inn and Tan Hill Inn.
- Allow for stairs. The Black Bull has no lift.
- Book dinner at the Lion Inn if you want a dining room table; the bar there is unreserved.
- Plan routes in advance with the AllTrails app, because several of these pubs sit on the Pennine Way or Coast to Coast routes and the weather changes fast on high ground.
- Pack for a night longer than planned at the high pubs. The 2010 snow-in at the Lion Inn lasted more than a week.
Responsible Visiting
Keep dogs under control around livestock, and keep to marked paths. Do not leave dogs alone in rooms unless the pub allows it; the Black Bull only does so if they are crated. Park considerately in villages, and take your rubbish with you.
Reader Q&A
What is the highest pub in Yorkshire?
Tan Hill Inn, at 528 metres (1,732 feet). The Lion Inn on Blakey Ridge is the second highest in Yorkshire, at 1,325 feet (404 metres).
Can you stay at the Lion Inn on Blakey Ridge?
Yes. It has 13 bedrooms, each with a TV and tea and coffee facilities, and prices include breakfast.
Which Yorkshire pubs with rooms allow dogs?
Several do. The Black Bull in Reeth allows two dogs per room at £10 per dog per night; Tan Hill Inn is very dog-friendly, and the Blue Bell Inn in Kettlewell welcomes muddy paws. The Lion Inn allows dogs in some rooms on request.
Is there a lift at the Black Bull in Reeth?
No. The rooms are reached by stairs.
How old is the Lister Arms in Malham?
The building is dated 1723, according to Historic England, and is Grade II listed.
Can you get breakfast at the CB Inn without staying?
Yes, by advance booking.
Where to Stay
The Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge. Thirteen bedrooms at 1,325 feet on the North York Moors, with breakfast included.
Tan Hill Inn, near Keld. Twelve en-suite rooms at 528 metres in Swaledale, and very dog-friendly.
The Charles Bathurst Inn, Arkengarthdale. Nineteen en-suite rooms in an 18th-century inn at the edge of the Pennine Way.
The Black Bull, Reeth. Rooms and a bunk room on High Row, with breakfast included, and a pub dating from 1680.
The Lister Arms, Malham. A Grade II-listed coaching inn, dated 1723, a short walk from Malham Cove.
The Blue Bell Inn, Kettlewell. En-suite rooms on Middle Lane, with dogs welcome.
For more on getting about the county by rail, read our guide to Yorkshire heritage railway journeys.
On the high ground, the pubs keep their lights on long after the road has gone quiet.
