William Wolfe’s 100 best pubs in Britain
The best pubs in the North
The 17 pubs in the North that made Mr Wolfe’s hundred: fires in the grate, landlords who remember you, and food and wine worth the journey.
G
Osmotherley, North Yorkshire1. The Golden LionBest pub on the planet. Don’t tell anyone. A handsome stone inn on the green of a moorland village, where walkers set out across the North…A
Byland, North Yorkshire40. The Abbey InnAcross the lane from the ruins of a Cistercian abbey. Cooking and setting of rare beauty.A
Hetton, North Yorkshire41. The AngelA Dales coaching inn and one of the pioneers of serious pub food. Now cooking at the very top of its game.B
Oldstead, North Yorkshire42. The Black SwanThe Banks family farm, the Banks family pub. Tommy Banks grows what you eat a field away.B
Newcastle upon Tyne43. The Broad ChareTerry Laybourne’s Quayside pub. Pork scratchings, ale and some of the best cooking in the North East.D
Barngates, Cumbria44. The Drunken DuckOn a crossroads above Ambleside, with fell views, its own brewery and very comfortable rooms.G
Ferrensby, North Yorkshire45. The General TarletonAn eighteenth-century coaching inn near Knaresborough, run with warmth and cooking with flair.H
Leeds46. The Highland LaddieA city local at heart, and among the very best pubs in Britain. Proof that greatness needs no thatch.O
Hawnby, North Yorkshire47. The OwlA moorland village pub of the kind that makes you plan your next walk around lunch.P
Newton-in-Bowland, Lancashire48. The Parkers ArmsStosie Madi’s pies are the stuff of legend. The Forest of Bowland is the setting; the pastry is the point.P
Penton, Cumbria49. The Pentonbridge InnRight on the Scottish border, a remote inn with a star and a kitchen garden. Worth the long road.P
South Dalton, East Yorkshire50. The Pipe and GlassJames Mackenzie’s inn at the gates of the Dalton estate. Hearty and refined in equal measure.P
Crosthwaite, Cumbria51. The Punch Bowl InnA Lyth Valley inn beside the church, with damson orchards all around. Lakeland comfort at its best.R
Anick, Northumberland52. The Rat InnAn eighteenth-century drovers’ inn looking across the Tyne Valley. Fires, real ale and splendid Sunday lunches.S
Low Newton-by-the-Sea, Northumberland53. The Ship InnA whitewashed square of fishermen’s cottages, a brewery out back and a beach out front. Crab sandwiches and a pint of their own.S
Harome, North Yorkshire54. The Star InnAndrew Pern’s thatched fourteenth-century longhouse, a Yorkshire institution for a quarter of a century.W
Fence, Lancashire55. The White SwanTom Parker’s cooking in a Timothy Taylor’s pub in Pendle witch country. Unassuming outside, outstanding within.
Osmotherley, North Yorkshire1. The Golden LionBest pub on the planet. Don’t tell anyone. A handsome stone inn on the green of a moorland village, where walkers set out across the North…A
Byland, North Yorkshire40. The Abbey InnAcross the lane from the ruins of a Cistercian abbey. Cooking and setting of rare beauty.A
Hetton, North Yorkshire41. The AngelA Dales coaching inn and one of the pioneers of serious pub food. Now cooking at the very top of its game.B
Oldstead, North Yorkshire42. The Black SwanThe Banks family farm, the Banks family pub. Tommy Banks grows what you eat a field away.B
Newcastle upon Tyne43. The Broad ChareTerry Laybourne’s Quayside pub. Pork scratchings, ale and some of the best cooking in the North East.D
Barngates, Cumbria44. The Drunken DuckOn a crossroads above Ambleside, with fell views, its own brewery and very comfortable rooms.G
Ferrensby, North Yorkshire45. The General TarletonAn eighteenth-century coaching inn near Knaresborough, run with warmth and cooking with flair.H
Leeds46. The Highland LaddieA city local at heart, and among the very best pubs in Britain. Proof that greatness needs no thatch.O
Hawnby, North Yorkshire47. The OwlA moorland village pub of the kind that makes you plan your next walk around lunch.P
Newton-in-Bowland, Lancashire48. The Parkers ArmsStosie Madi’s pies are the stuff of legend. The Forest of Bowland is the setting; the pastry is the point.P
Penton, Cumbria49. The Pentonbridge InnRight on the Scottish border, a remote inn with a star and a kitchen garden. Worth the long road.P
South Dalton, East Yorkshire50. The Pipe and GlassJames Mackenzie’s inn at the gates of the Dalton estate. Hearty and refined in equal measure.P
Crosthwaite, Cumbria51. The Punch Bowl InnA Lyth Valley inn beside the church, with damson orchards all around. Lakeland comfort at its best.R
Anick, Northumberland52. The Rat InnAn eighteenth-century drovers’ inn looking across the Tyne Valley. Fires, real ale and splendid Sunday lunches.S
Low Newton-by-the-Sea, Northumberland53. The Ship InnA whitewashed square of fishermen’s cottages, a brewery out back and a beach out front. Crab sandwiches and a pint of their own.S
Harome, North Yorkshire54. The Star InnAndrew Pern’s thatched fourteenth-century longhouse, a Yorkshire institution for a quarter of a century.W
Fence, Lancashire55. The White SwanTom Parker’s cooking in a Timothy Taylor’s pub in Pendle witch country. Unassuming outside, outstanding within.