Old Hill Inn, Chapel-le-Daleback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Well, they've scrapped the daft "tapas" evening and improved the heating. Suspect the food is still pricey though from what my mates told me but the bar ladies were friendly enough and beer prices were around £3.10 (at least for my pint of"Spitfire"). The landlady, on seeing us walking up from the nearby bunkhouse at 6pm rushed in from attending to her horses and opened up early, even invited us to serve ourselves at the pumps whilst she took a shower. Turned down my offer to scrub her back though.
GeofB - 10 Dec 2013 19:22 |
Quaint rustic interior, Food expensive, beer is well kept and £3 plus. Friday night is "Tapas" night which seems a bit incongruous in this area in winter - means you need to spend a fair bit on separate dishes to get a filling meal as nothing else is available.
I didn't eat here because I didn't fancy tapas and had also experienced infuriating service here last time I came in 3 years ago. ie 8 of us on a table served one inadequate dish of veg. By the time the dish reached me it was nearly empty. We asked for more but by the time this came my untouched chicken breast had gone cold, so this went to be reheated and when it came back the new dish of picked over veg had cooled and everyone else was onto their puddings. The chilly interior did nothing to cool down my temper especially as the meal hadn't been cheap at the time.
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Visited for a very quick drink whilst half way around the 3 Peaks challenge.
The pub was empty at the time, although it was mid afternoon, however the Dent Porter was very well kept.
I asked for a pint of water and received this without any hassle, something I thought I may get after reading about some of the other pubs in this area on this site.
Though a quick visit, the pub seemd very clean and clearly catered for food. It is in an excellent setting and offered several real ales from Dent brewery and elsewhere.
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Not quite the place it used to be. Back in the 70's it was a cavers' and walkers pub - rough and ready. It was not unusual to find cavers trying to traverse the walls withoug touching the ground, or to weave their way in and out of the cart wheel spokes. Sodden socks would be hanging in front of the fire, gently steaming. It was a place to drink, get drunk, and stagger back to your campsite or bunk barn.
The rot set in when it changed its name from the Hill Inn to the Old Hill Inn. It now has an emphasis on cuisine, and the owner is world famous as a sugar sculptor - his work is on display. And as you might guess, with such sophistication comes a hike in price.
All very impressive I'm sure, but give me the Hill In of the 70's any day.
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I was almost persuaded to buy this pub by a certain Alan Greenbank, back in 1984. Instead, he gave me the keys to a former Railwayman's cottage in Selside (a few doors from Mike Harding), which he had recently renovated with new range, inside toilet, floorboards, doors anf windows. All he was asking was �20,000!
I could have the pub for �340,000.
"Where do I get that sort of money from?", I asked Alan. His jack russell -Jake, keeping a watchful eye on me.
"You get a brewery like Scottish & Newcastle to buy it. Then, you manage it on their behalf. You'll make money on the accommodation, meals and soft drinks, you make 'owt on the beer and, I've put a parking meter in the car park for walkers and campers".
I went to his wedding in the late 80's in Settle and, the last I knew of Alan was that he'd sold the pub, bought an american camper and was living on a camp-site in Ingleton. I doubt if this great character is still with us.
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Really welcome after hiking over Ingleborough. Lots of wood and bare stone walls, mixed with open fires, it's what a pub should be in the Dales. I had a good pint of Dent Aviator, and there was a fair range of other beers on pump.
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Went in last week after descending from Ingleborough before climbing Whernside. The Black Sheep best bitter was lovely, food quite good though not cheap.
The other customers seemed to mostly be training for a three peaks event and were being quite competitive about it. Certainly a better visit than the year before at lunchtime when we could not get a seat in the main bar due to the table-loads of children.
Came back early evening after Whernside and had a lovely coffee outside in the sunshine. 7.5.
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Beer - A cracking array and certainly worthy of its inclusion in the 2009 Beer Guide. I sampled Dent Aviator (brewed about 15 miles away) and Marstons Oyster Stout - exemplary. I didn't have time to try the other beers - the weather was clsoing in and my lift was outside.
Food - There is a restaurant next to the bar area - didn't stop for food.
Atmosphere - I walked in on a large group singing folk songs around the tables - good natured if a little on the morbid side. How many songs are their about bearing coffins? Part of the local Folk festival overspill probably displaced by the atrocious weather outside.
Service - Welcoming.
Overall - This sits on one of the crossover paths on the 3 peaks trail from Whernside to Ingleborough and boy was it needed on the day I visited!
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