Walk This Way: Hard to find a Moor perfect pub

Mark Reid goes on the trail of Yorkshire’s great country pubs. He reports from the Inn at Hawnby in the North York Moors.

I often take overseas journalists walking across the Yorkshire moors.

They want to experience what makes our countryside special, and it’s down to me to find those special moments that can then be captured on notepad or film.

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Luckily, 14 years spent walking across hill and dale, visiting hundreds of country pubs and clocking up over 10,000 miles of footpaths has given me an insight into some of our best views, pubs and history. So, when a call came in from Welcome to Yorkshire to take two Swiss journalists walking in the North York Moors for an autumn experience, I knew exactly where to take them.

The upper reaches of Ryedale are beautiful, with the picture-postcard village of Hawnby sheltered beneath the distinctive flat-topped ridge of its namesake hill, with heather moorland stretching northwards as far as the eye can see.

The distinctive hills that shelter Hawnby form part of the Tabular Hills, an extensive range of predominantly limestone hills dissected by countless deep side-valleys that run along the southern boundary of the North York Moors. Cloaked in ancient woodland, these side-valleys are a delight to explore.

After a full day’s walking across the moors above Bilsdale, we threaded our way along a track through a wooded side-valley down into Ryedale.

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It was late afternoon as we walked up along the road into Hawnby, with a delicate mist rising from the river and the roadside hawthorn trees thick with berries. Hawnby consists of two clusters of cottages at the top and bottom of a short but steep hill, each cottage built using local honey-coloured stone topped by a roof of red pantiles.

The pub is situated at the top of this hill, so a final brisk “pull” brought us to the end of our walk. The air was cool and damp, and the light was fading fast, but the glow from the pub’s windows diffused into the mist to produce a warm and inviting haze.

I opened the door to be greeted by the owner from behind the bar. Couples were sat at tables choosing their evening meal, a handful of tweed-clad shooters were warming by the blazing fire and gamekeepers and farmers had convened early for the evening’s darts match.

I looked at my two Swiss friends; we were immersed in the warm, welcoming ambience of a Yorkshire country inn. An ambience that is hard to define or describe but I knew that, at that moment, everything had combined to create an atmosphere that is rarely experienced but is how the world imagines every English country inn to be. We enjoyed the moment with a pint of Black Sheep Bitter in hand.

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The Inn at Hawnby is a refined country pub in a spectacular location hidden away amongst the sylvan folds of Ryedale, with one of Yorkshire’s best beer gardens.

The building dates back to the early 19th Century when it was originally a drovers’ inn known as the Tamworth Arms. If a long-lost relative from abroad ever comes visiting and wants to experience England, take them to this pub on a misty autumnal evening.

Mark Reid, author of The Inn Way guidebooks, is running guided walks as Yorkshire Post reader offers. To book call 01423 871750.

Experience the pub yourself

Contact: Inn at Hawnby, near Helmsley, North Yorkshire. Tel: 01439 798202 www.innathawnby.co.uk

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Opening Hours: Sunday – Thursday: 11am – 3pm, 6pm – 11pm; Friday and Saturday – open all day

Food: AA Rosette Award for food. Mains include Holme Farm Venison Steak (£15.95), Hawnby Steak & Ale Pie (£10.95), Yorkshire Rump of Lamb (£16.95). Food served noon – 2pm, 7pm – 9pm.

Real Ales: Choice of three ales, including Black Sheep Best Bitter, Arden Ale (Great Newsome Brewery) and Timothy Taylor Landlord.

Accommodation: Nine en-suite bedrooms, from £99 for a double room.

Walkers Welcome?: The inn is surrounded by fantastic walking country.

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