The Tan Hill Inn, Swaledale & Arkengarthdale
Ever since I saw Ted Moult as a child do his feather trick promoting Everest double glazing, The Tan Hill Inn has always been one of those pubs I wanted to visit. Having already visited the third highest pub in England, the Warren House Inn on Dartmoor and the fifth highest pub, Blakey Ridge last year, I was determined to make it to the highest pub in England, The Tan Hill Inn located at the top of Swaledale and Arkengarthdale.
Standing at 1732 feet above sea level, the Tan Hill Inn offers a fantastic panoramic at the top of the Yorkshire Dales which stretches for miles on a clear day. It took a fair drive to reach the Tan Hill Inn even from Reeth as you climb up through Arkengarthdale and the dale changes from green pasture to moorland and you soon appreciate how isolated and high up you are as you approach the pub. Alternatively, you can follow the River Swale by road to the west of Reeth and through Angram and Keld and then head north to approach the Tan Hill Inn from the South which takes in more of Swaledale but takes slightly longer.
This particular Sunday, we were slightly late arriving at the Tan Hill Inn as it was after 2 pm, however the pub was packed full of walkers and visitors enjoying food and drink and if that was not enough, there was even a duo playing acoutsic live music to the left of the bar. There was a good selection of cask conditioned ales at the bar and all the food was listed on a blackboard menu at very reasonable prices to choose from.
We were very fortunate to get food at the Tan Hill Inn that day as the kitchen staff had clearly been busy and we just managed to order an open roast pork baguette (£5.95) and the pub speciality, jumbo sausage in a giant Yorkshire pudding with chips and vegetables (£7.95) before the menu was taken down. The food arrived extremely quickly and was really delicious and much needed given the long drive.
Every part of the Tan Hill Inn was full and everyone, whether they were drinking or eating was enjoying the live music and soaking up the atmosphere. The were two fires lit in the pub and it was nice and warm which was very comforting as it was really cold and windy outside which was no surprise given how high above sea level we were.
The walls of the Tan Hill Inn are covered with old black and white photographs, two of which in particular by the entrance highlight how deep the snow can get at the pub and it really emphasised what a remote part of the country this pub is located in but at the same time how nice to be so isolated and away from everything.
If you ever do get the chance to visit the Tan Hill Inn, then I can recommend everything about it as it has a character all of its own that make it a very special place.
This entry was posted on Sunday February 22nd, 2009 at 7:00 PM and is filed under Places to Eat, Places to Visit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.
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