Your chance to enter the Dragon

And the chance to own a piece of history in the Yorkshire Dales is now on offer after the famous pub’s leasehold was put on the market for £120,000.

The owner of the historic coaching inn, Mark Thompson, and his partner, Yvonne Lovatt, have decided to end their 12-year tenure at the pub and hand over the running of the Wensleydale business to a new licensee.

Mr Thompson saved the pub from bankruptcy in 2001 when he bought it for £375,000 and has since carried out renovations costing £700,000 which have included building a visitor centre in the grounds close to Hardraw Force, reputedly England’s highest unbroken above-ground waterfall.

The couple are now embarking on a major restoration project of Nappa Hall, a 15th century fortified manor house in Wensleydale which is owned by Mr Thompson.

However, their decision to leave the pub – which they will continue to own outright – was speeded up after Ms Lovatt was diagnosed with cancer last month and is now undergoing a course of chemotherapy.

Mr Thompson, who has run a total of four different pubs throughout the Dales since 1979, said: “The pub really is part of my soul, and it has been a difficult decision.

“When you walk through the door, you really do feel a part of it, it is a quintessential English pub which are sadly disappearing today. But being pragmatic, this is a decision which we have got to take, especially with what has happened to Yvonne. When we first came here, I was hoping to be semi-retired, but that simply has not been the case.

“There is still so much potential with the pub, with the opportunity to develop the restaurant and the chance to hold weddings here. We are always asked about holding wedding receptions because of the waterfall, but that is something we have not done.

“I have been so lucky to be able to say that I have owned two iconic places in Yorkshire, with Hardraw Force and Nappa Hall. But the time is right now to hand over the Green Dragon Inn to someone else, as much as I love the place.”

The pub’s long history has seen a host of famous guests stay including the Romantic poet William Wordsworth and the artist JMW Turner, who visited on his tour of the region that resulted in 800 sketches and paintings of some of Yorkshire’s most iconic countryside and landmarks.

It also found fame with film fans around the world after it was used as a location for the hit 1991 movie, Robin Hood – Prince of Thieves, which starred Kevin Costner.

Hardraw Force featured in the scene when Maid Marian caught a glimpse of Robin Hood bathing under a waterfall, and Costner was on location for the shoot.

The waterfall’s spectacular natural amphitheatre is also used as a venue for one of the oldest brass band competitions in the world. The Hardraw Brass Band Festival, which was first held in 1884, is staged on the second Sunday of September each year and now features 14 different bands from across the UK.

The pub’s grounds are also the venue for hugely popular music festivals which are staged on three separate occasions each year in May, June and July, attracting more than 400 musicians from across the country.

While they are relinquishing the running of the pub, Mr Thompson and Ms Lovatt will continue to oversee Hardraw Force as well as the new visitor centre and campsite, which has pitches for about 100 tents.

The sale of the leasehold is being handled through agents from the specialist real estate firm, Colliers International, who claimed the chance to own the lease for such a landmark business had already sparked widespread interest.

Colliers International Hotels Director, Peter Bean, said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for an experienced operator to run a successful and much-loved business in a beautiful rural environment.”

[email protected]