Trips around England: North Yorkshire

Encompassing an area of over 3,000 square miles, the North Yorkshire region is large and varied, from coastal towns facing the North Sea to small villages in the middle of the lush green countryside, and our visit was focused on the latter. Well, sort of…

During our 3-day stay, our main intentions for the trip were well defined:

1. Explore the Yorkshire real ale scene
2. Get a feel for the North Yorkshire region and see as much as possible via self-guided town tours, walks and drives
3. Relax and enjoy the beautiful green scenery & outdoors (which could easily overlap with intention #’s 1 & 2)

Ideal accommodation for beer lovers – Pub Inns

 “Drinking, Eating, Sleeping.” The Wheatley Arms hotel sign told it like it was.

Wheatley Arms Hotel, Ben Rhydding

In my 18 months as a UK resident, this wasn’t my first pub inn experience. I still think it’s odd walking into a pub and asking for my room key at the exact same place where I’ll be ordering a beer later. Yet after a day of long drives, walks and lots of sightseeing, it’s also an ideal place to stay. Knowing that I’m settled in for the night with nothing to do but eat, have a few beers, and leisurely walk up the stairs to reach my bed.

White Bear Hotel in Masham

Yorkshire Real Ale Scene – Pub and Brewery highlights

The Old Cock

We “coincidentally” timed our drive to Yorkshire perfectly to allow for a brief stopover in Otley. The pub received the honor for Leeds CAMRA Pub of the Year 2013, and the award was presented to the owners of the pub while we enjoyed a pint. A gem for real ale lovers, this pub regularly serves around 25 guest ales per week.

The Woolly Sheep Inn – a Timothy Taylor’s pub in Skipton. We stumbled in on their August cask ale beer festival held in the back garden of the pub, where we could choose from a tasting of 16 different local ales.

York Brewery – Established in 1996, York Brewery is at a great location within the old city walls of the historic town of York and a short walking distance to the city’s main shopping and attractions. A very cool spot for a brewery, and I enjoyed having a beer at their Brewery Tap Room (full of charming character with a cosy feel)!

In preparation for our travels, we regularly prepare by researching the best breweries and beer spots. Often, it’s directly linked to the places we stay, as was the case on our 2nd night stay in Yorkshire.

Known for its family-run breweries, the town of Masham was the obvious choice.

Theakston Legendary Ales –Founded in 1827, Theakstons is a family run brewing company that’s currently independent (though in its history it has been controlled by other companies including Scottish & Newcastle).  While we lived in the US, Jim and I remember seeing Theakstons Old Peculiar beer available at beer distributors, so we were thrilled to visit the brewery in person.

Black Sheep Brewery – In the small town of Masham (population approximately 1,200 people), there is an interesting brewing rivalry. Another brewery is stationed practically around the corner from Theakstons, a brewery that was started by Paul Theakston, a member of the Theakston brewing family.  He split off from Theakstons in the 1980s, and in 1992, formed his own brewing company.

 Quaint market town visits

Skipton – We walked along the canal side and relaxed in the back garden of the Woolley Sheep pub during our two hour long stopover in this town.

Masham – A small market town, Masham was a nice retreat, though the majority of our time here was focused on the brewery visits!

Knaresborough – We explored the hidden streets, castle ruins, and saw the magnificent viaduct, but we easily could have spent more than a few hours sightseeing in this town.

York – I was surprised by the size of this city in the middle of all the other small countryside villages and towns. The architecture was amazing and I loved the medieval streets, the walk over the bridge with the River Ouse below us, and our stop at the York Brewery.

Summing it up…some small town American girl random observations

 Old MacDonald had a _____SHEEP!

I grew up in the middle of small farming towns, so driving by fields of cows is completely normal. But sheep – well, that’s another story. In the English countryside they’re everywhere. Tough to see from the picture below, but the sheep and cows were all grazing together as we drove by this field, and I was fascinated.

Cool village names – 

Narrow roads – 

Yes, it’s true. I’m an American who’s used to wide lanes and large 5 lane highways. Fortunately, Jim assumes the driving responsibilities during our road trips around England, which I know he does partially for his own safety.  And I can’t blame him  – I’d surely be hitting curbs, fences and debris alongside the road if I were the driver.

You know the roads are narrow when you see road signs like this –

American style diners – 

On the A1 highway going north from Cambridge we passed at least three OK diners that promote themselves as “American-style”. I didn’t taste the food, but I was surprised to see all of the crowded parking lots at every location we passed. Throughout my residency in the UK, I’ve often heard sarcastic comments from English people about the “large, ridiculous sized portions of food” in the USA, but it appears they must enjoy a few aspects about our food culture –

Classic British pub names – and I love them!

My personal recommendations

Taste the Yorkshire real ale. Stay at a Pub Inn. Bring your walking shoes and take some long walks through historical villages and remote picturesque countryside.