A Pint In The Dales....

A flying visit to Wharfedale last weekend prompted me to reflect on some of the pubs I have visited over the years in what is one of the most attractive parts of the Yorkshire Dales....

Over the years, certainly up to lockdown, but not as much since, I used to go up to the Yorkshire Dales quite regularly. It was a regular destination for walking, and as all hikers will know, and end of walk drink is part of the routine. One of our frequent haunts was Wharfedale, or more accurately, Upper Wharfedale, which covers the stretch from the source of the Wharfe a few miles north east of Ribblehead  down as far as the large village of Addingham, although for the first 15 miles through generally wilder countryside it is known as Langstrothdale. Further down the valley from Burnsall, around Appletreewick, and Bolton Abbey it becomes heavily-wooded, which is fairly unusual for the Dales, before broadening out as it approaches the towns such as Ilkley and Otley close to the West Yorkshire conurbation as it heads on towards the Vale of York and the conclusion of its 50 mile journey.

River Wharfe between Appletreewick and Burnsall....

We would walk the hills around the villages of Kettlewell, Starbotton, and Buckden, such as Great Whernside and Buckden Pike. Further down the valley, we would walk to the top of Simon's Seat, a prominent and sprawling millstone grit outcrop with a distinctive rocky summit which looks down on the villages of Appletreewick and Skyreholme and affords extensive views of the surrounding area, or maybe visit the narrow half-mile long gorge of Trollers Gill.

In more recent years when I have fancied a trip to the Dales I have often headed to Appletreewick. It is only just over an hour's drive from home, but has always felt like a bolthole from the busy world, although it has got busier over the years as it is one of the closest parts of the Dales to the towns and cities of West Yorkshire, and has plenty of camping available making it popular with families. If you don't want to walk the hills, there is some very pleasant walking along the side of the River Wharfe to the popular village of Burnsall and beyond. And Appletreewick has two pubs as well which are both well worth visiting.

The village itself, which in the local dialect is pronounced Ap-trik, was mentioned in the Domesday Book. The village prospered from the year 1300 when Bolton Priory acquired its manor with its extensive sheep ranges and valuable lead mines. Charters for markets and a fair were granted and the latter remained important until the impact of the railways in the mid-19th century drew the custom away. The traditional Ap-trick Onion Fair celebrated all kinds of things, but given its name, it was chiefly remembered for being a means of selling lots of onions that were brought into the village especially for the fair! Today the village looks much as it always has in the time I have been visiting, with some fine old buildings and stone cottages, with bright purple flowers cascading over the garden walls.

As I was driving on this visit I could only have a pint, so after parking up at the start of the top of the village, I had a short walk around and called in for a pint at the pub nearest to where I'd parked up, the New Inn, which I have always tended to go to if I only have chance to visit one of the pubs. Not that there is anything wrong with the beer at the other pub, the Craven Arms, other than the fact that the New Inn had always retained more of the character of a traditional Dales pub. 

The New Inn had hit the headlines in the 1970's when its legendary landlord John Showers declared it a no-smoking pub, many years before the law was introduced for every pub in the land. Having lost a close friend to lung cancer, he announced he was banning smoking within the pub. This decision caused a sensation in local and national media and news of his smoking ban spread across the world. Showers was featured on television and radio and the newspapers were full of the story.  He advertised the New Inn as England’s First Fresh Air Inn and a notice on the door warned potential customers that they were entering England’s First Licensed Smokeless Zone. For a time visitors flocked from far and wide to the pub before the novelty wore off. 

The pub was run subsequently for the next 21 years by the mountain-bike loving John Pitchers until 2007 when at the age of 47 he left to pursue his dream of becoming a professional mountain biker. It was the self-styled home of the Appletreewick Dangerous Sports Club whose motto was Who dies with the most toys wins. The smoking ban had been reversed when he took over as it had ultimately driven customers away and the New Inn became a warm and friendly place, with good beer and conversation at the core of its offer, with the pub's efforts rewarded by a regular spot in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. It was a magnet for mountain bikers who were able to store their bikes safely overnight in a livery at the back of the pub, as well as walkers, general tourists, and regulars alike. Everyone was greeted by John as a long lost friend, but sadly, having spent years riding the hills and dales around his beloved Wharfedale after he'd left the pub, he passed away a year or two ago.

I walked in and turned right into the room with the bar. It had changed around a bit, previously the bar had been at the back of the room with a small raised section with a little seating in front of the bar. The bar has been moved so it now runs part way down the side of the room as you go in and has been refurbished but otherwise it was very much as I remembered it, with a small room beyond providing additional seating, and a further room to the left as you go in, with all featuring open fireplaces. The pub is attractively and traditionally furnished whilst the walls are decorated with old black and white photographs of the village in bygone days, although most of it looks as it does today. From a choice of 6 beers on handpump which also included a couple from Kirkstall I went for a pint of Saltaire Blonde, and took it outside to the tables at the front of the pub where I sat beside a huge wall basket of flowers. My beer was refreshing and delicious (NBSS 3.5), another example the recent improvement in quality of Saltaire Blonde. It was very pleasant sat for half an hour in the warm sunshine looking out over the distant hills, and I look forward to visiting again soon. According to the CAMRA website, the pub is open everyday from Noon but closes every day at 7pm except Friday and Saturday when it is 10pm, with food available at all times during pub opening hours.

A short walk away is the other pub in the village, the Craven Arms, which I was unable to visit this time, although I drove past it as I was leaving. Dating from 1548, this multi-roomed free house features stone-flagged floors, oak beams and gas lighting. The main bar features an original Yorkshire range which is usually lit, whilst the cosy tap room has 'Ring the Bull' and an open fire. A snug behind the bar leads to the heather-thatched stone-built cruck-barn which was added in 2006 having been constructed using traditional techniques and materials such as lime and horsehair to line the walls and wool for insulation. It was the first such building built in Wharfedale for over 300 years. Complete with minstrels' gallery and a large open fireplace, this amazing space is available to hire for functions such as wedding receptions as well as hosting gigs from time to time featuring the likes of the excellent Plumhall.

There is a currently a good choice of beers on the bar with the pub listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide, There are 5 regulars including 3 from Dark Horse of Hetton, Wensleydale Blonde and Theakston Old Peculier, the latter served from a wooden cask. There are usually 2 guest beers typically from Yorkshire breweries, whilst a further pump generally switches between Theakston Best Bitter and LAMB Brewery beers, which are brewed behind the Queens Arms in Littondale. 

I remember a few years ago visiting the Craven Arms and recognising a girl who was working behind the bar. "Excuse me", I said "are you Vicky?" "Yes", she replied, as she slowly seemed to recognise me. "We used to work together, do you remember? I sacked you!" Unfortunately I'd had to let go from where we used to work for persistent bad timekeeping. And then the penny dropped with her! If it was a problem she didn't show it, she was obviously better-suited to working in hospitality at the Craven Arms, and despite the circumstances of our last meeting she nonetheless made us very welcome and gave us a tour of the then newly-opened Cruck Barn and made sure we were ok for drinks throughout the rest of our stay there.

Craven Arms, Appletreewick

Back at the New Inn, as I sat drinking my pint in the sunshine it struck me that compared to other villages in the countryside, places like Appletreewick are holding their own in hanging on to their village pubs. Location of course helps, being in the centre of a tourist area within easy reach of large areas of population. And a quick check as I was writing this showed that other pubs in the area such as the Red Lion along the road in Burnsall, the Clarendon at Hebden, the Fountaine Inn at Linton-in-Craven, plus several including the Foresters at Grassington, the area's biggest settlement, are all still around from 30 years ago, all pubs I have visited over the years. But with accommodation available in the area ranging from campsites to the odd hotel and B'nB as well as most of the pubs themselves, it means they are no longer solely reliant on the whims of the odd farmer and local, or errant driver, something which has impacted on rural pubs in many parts of the country such as not far away in the South Pennines where so many pubs have closed. The pubs here like the New Inn and the Craven Arms have been able to adapt to meet changing circumstances and are deservedly doing well.

As I finished my pint and returned my empty glass to the bar, I decided that I will book to stay over on my next visit to Appletreewick so I can fully appreciate the charm of this village, its pubs, and the beautiful part of Wharfedale in which it lies....

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