Pub of the week: The Falcon, Arncliffe

CITED by many as their favourite Yorkshire pub, the Falcon’s location in Littondale, an offshoot of Upper Wharfedale, is both a cause of irritation and a blessing. It is annoyingly remote, and must be out of bounds to drivers who intend to drink here – the access road is tortuous enough without alcohol. But remoteness is also what makes the Falcon so timeless, and it’s been said that the interior looks straight from the 1940s period of All Creatures Great and Small.

Its antiquity is underlined by the Falcon being one of the few pubs left in England that do not have handpumps, far less electric lager and soft drinks dispensers. The Timothy Taylors beer is poured into a porcelain jug from small barrels beneath the bar, then served into glasses with a jiggle in a usually futile attempt to whip up a head.

The landlord, Robin Miller, is well-known for his arid sense of humour. Ask what beers are on sale, he’ll point to a brewery towel on the bar and say: “That one, sir.”

The Falcon looks out over Arncliffe’s village green. The interior is basic but fascinating. A stuffed fox greets you in the entrance, and near the bar there are stuffed exotic pheasants (a Reeves’s and Lady Amherst’s). A glass case contains a superb 3lb brown trout, and also behind glass are 14 flies specially tied for the Falcon’s four-mile stretch of fishing rights on the nearby River Skirfare.

The food is limited but excellent, confined to things like pie or pastie and peas, or cheese or ham sandwich. The opening hours are another throwback: 12 to 3pm at lunchtime, 7 to 11pm at night (10.30pm on Sundays).

THE VERDICT

Welcome***

Drinks selection**

Atmosphere*****

Food***

Prices****