Billy Bob’s Parlour: Yorkshire's answer to a Disneyland-style ranch famous for ice cream

Billy Bob’s Parlour, located on Calm Slate Farm in Skipton, was established 15 years ago by Mandy and Gary Rogers.

They have since opened a new location in Lancashire (Myerscough near Preston).

With the ‘fall’ season upon us and their famous Halloween event ready to launch, we sent our reporter Sophie Mei Lan to try it out.

Many people had recommended Billy Bob’s Parlour, but I’d wrongly assumed it was just for gelato lovers. The Rogers are the powerhouse behind Yorkshire Dales Ice cream after all, which was set up on this tranquil farm. One journalist even described it as ‘the best place on Earth.’

We decided to try it out for our daughter's second birthday - and it was a real surprise.

Billy Bob’s is at the heart of this idyllic setting with its wooden outhouses. As we drove into the car park it felt like the American dream had landed in the Yorkshire Dales.

There’s a wooden parlour, two play barns, a party barn, and an outdoor play area.

We’d booked a table for brunch first inside the parlour, which means we only had to pay to play for £3 extra, and didn’t need to book that part.

Wow. As we walked in, I was bowled over by the attention to detail of the place. From the vintage soda machine to the gelato bar, from the padded booths and tables to the yellow American school bus, which you can also sit inside. There is even a jukebox, retro signs, and a huge American menu.

One of the diner's staff members explained the history of the place. The Rogers, the couple behind the establishment, visit America every year, regularly sourcing shipping containers full of produce to create the most authentic experience possible.

With an array of Yorkshire ice cream on offer and the best Canadian maple syrup placed on each time, I realise that this is a real ‘best of both’ hybrid.

We sat on board the school bus, which was cosy and quiet as we had visited during term time. I’m told that during school holidays, more than one thousand people pass through Billy Bob’s doors daily.

We ordered kids' American pancakes with Nutella and strawberries, Huevos rancheros, and a Full English breakfast.

You pay at the counter where the ice cream soda floats are tempting, as are the milkshakes. We added a couple of coffees for us, and a chocolate milkshake to our order for the birthday girl. It came to just over £47.

Food arrived promptly but looked delightful. The kids' pancake stack was a fluffy tower of homemade pancakes. My Juevos Rancheros included a base of ranch-style beans, which were smoky and rich in flavour, and it was topped with a crispy hash brown, fried egg with sunny-side up, and a jalapeno chutney. I normally don’t eat breakfast, but if I had flavours as exciting as this on offer, I would always order breakfast. I washed it down with a strong black americano.

My husband loved his hash brown and ranch beans and was raging about his giant sausage, saying it was clearly all homemade and top quality.

This was exactly how I’d dreamed of dining out on my travels to the USA, but I had never experienced a meal or a setting this good while I was over there.

We then paid £3 to play in the outdoor play area and the two barns. They were just decorating the outside with their famous Fall and Autumn Festival decorations and an array of pumpkins on display.

There’s a decent-sized adventure playground with wooden wagons and slides. Then inside the two barns, there are bales of hay, slides, a zip wire, and mini go-karts to cycle around in. We had a lot of fun and ended up covered in hay as we climbed the slides for the final time.

Sadly, we only had a few hours at Billy Bob’s as we had a school run to do, and it’s over an hour away from where we live. That said, we vowed to come again for the food alone. We’re even planning a weekend in Skipton now to make the most of it.

Billy Bob’s is Yorkshire's answer to a Disneyland-style ranch, all set within a Yorkshire farm.