AA's Pub Guide 2020 reveals the top pubs in Yorkshire

North Yorkshire boasts the most AA-recommended “pick of the pubs” in the region with 24 - equal fourth nationally alongside London, but behind Oxfordshire, Devon and Somerset.

Judges raised a glass to four pubs in South Yorkshire, three in West Yorkshire and just one in East Yorkshire - The Pipe and Glass Inn at South Dalton.

In the last decade, almost one in four pubs have closed due to dwindling custom and higher running costs, with numbers falling to about 39,000 pubs in 2018.

However, the AA said the quality of the UK’s pub scene “is better than ever” with a record-number of pubs included in this year’s guide.

Yorkshire’s “pick of the pubs”, which is chosen by inspectors, the guide’s editorial team, and from reader suggestions, includes Ye Old Sun Inn at Colton and the Michelin-starred Star Inn at Harome.

A Yorkshire Post review described another on the list, the Durham Ox at Crayke, as a “lovely picture-book country pub” which is “still very much a part of the community”.

The Black Bull Inn in Boroughbridge was built in 1258 and still retains its ancient beams, low ceilings and roaring open fires - and it is also supposedly home to the ghosts of a monk, blacksmith, cavalier and a small boy.

The Cross Keys in Leeds, once a watering hole for foundry workers, is where steam engine inventor Kames Watt reputedly hired a room to spy on his competitor, Matthew Murray.

The guide’s 21st edition, which is on sale from today, features 2,000 pubs in the UK.

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The full list of "pick of the pubs"

The Pipe & Glass Inn, SOUTH DALTON, EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE

Charles Bathurst Inn, ARKENGARTHDALE, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The Crown Inn, Roecliffe, BOROUGHBRIDGE, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The Black Bull Inn, BOROUGHBRIDGE, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The Bull, BROUGHTON, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The Fox & Hounds, CARTHORPE, NORTH YORKSHIRE

Ye Old Sun Inn, COLTON, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The Durham Ox, CRAYKE, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The Blue Lion, EAST WITTON, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The Wheatsheaf Inn, EGTON, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The Bridge Inn, GRINTON, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The Star Inn, HAROME, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The Worsley Arms Hotel, HOVINGHAM, NORTH YORKSHIRE

George & Dragon Hotel, KIRKBYMOORSIDE, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The General Tarleton Inn, KNARESBOROUGH, NORTH YORKSHIRE

Sandpiper Inn, LEYBURN, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The Lister Arms, MALHAM, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The Alice Hawthorn, NUN MONKTON, NORTH YORKSHIRE

Fox & Hounds Country Inn, PICKERING, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The White Swan Inn, PICKERING, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The Anvil Inn, SAWDON, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The Hare Inn, SCAWTON, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The Buck Inn, THORNTON WATLASS, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The Wensleydale Heifer, WEST WITTON, NORTH YORKSHIRE

The White Swan, WIGHILL, NORTH YORKSHIRE

Cubley Hall, PENISTONE, SOUTH YORKSHIRE

The Fat Cat, SHEFFIELD, SOUTH YORKSHIRE

Kelham Island Tavern, SHEFFIELD, SOUTH YORKSHIRE

The Cricket Inn, TOTLEY, SOUTH YORKSHIRE

Shibden Mill Inn, HALIFAX, WEST YORKSHIRE

The Cross Keys, LEEDS, WEST YORKSHIRE

The Three Acres Inn, SHELLEY, WEST YORKSHIRE

The Pub Guide 2020 will be available for £15.99 online and in bookstores from Monday.