The hotel: the Blue Lion started life in the 18th century as
a coaching inn on the drovers’ road into Wensleydale, and it has twinkled
benevolently down over East Witton’s enormous village green ever since. When
you drive up, it looks every inch a belt-and-braces Yorkshire Dales local,
but nowhere does a better job of melding authentic country-pub cosiness with
star-quality food and service.
The bar is everything it should be — candlelight on flagstones, curvy antique
settles and an inglenook fireplace that could easily accommodate half a
tree. All it lacks is a corpulent squire chucking chicken bones over his
shoulder and cursing his gout.
A couple of the bedrooms are on the small side — you could probably swing a
cat in number 6, but never a lion. But you won’t be spending much time
upstairs, and the classy, countrified furnishings make a virtue of the
hotel’s arthritic floorboards and head-bumping eaves. The rooms in the
recently converted stable block are especially appealing — snug little
cubbyholes, perfect for a weekend canoodle.
It’s at dinner, though, that the Blue Lion really roars. The mile-long menu
reads like something from the Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall book of
fur-and-feathers British cuisine, the one where all the recipes begin:
“First, shoot your pheasant.” But that doesn’t mean you should expect
paunchy Yorkshire puddings or custard by the slice. Everything is delicately
presented and delectably cooked — from the salad of seasonal game birds with
smoked foie gras, walnut pickle and sliced pear (£7.95), to the slow-roast
honey-glazed duckling with apple gravy (£15). And, as befits a restaurant in
Wallace and Gromit country, the dedicated cheese menu runs into double
figures. It might be an idea to pack the wrong trousers (one size too large)
for your journey home.
And if I can still move the next morning?
Apart from great grub, the Lion’s main attraction is its doorstep
access to delicious limestone countryside. It looks especially tasty just
now, when the riverside meadows are flecked with wild flowers and you have a
good chance of rubbing noses with inquisitive adolescent lambs.
An hour’s easy stroll brings you to Jervaulx Abbey, a 12th-century stronghold
of Cistercian monks. These were enterprising chaps who invented Wensleydale
cheese, brewed their own beer, bred racehorses and did a little praying in
their spare time. While booze and betting endure, their monastery is in
picturesque ruins, but birds and butterflies love it, as will anyone seeking
quiet contemplation on a summer’s evening.
In the other direction is Middleham, a small town with a big castle (the
childhood home of Richard III) and a trademark Yorkshire Dales market square
— cobbled underfoot, busy with community and shored up on all sides with
little bakeries and come-hither pubs.
Please, no more mention of food!
How about water, then? The real scenic superstars of Wensleydale are
its waterfalls. It’s a 20-minute drive west beside the River Ure to Aysgarth
Falls, where Kevin Costner duelled with Little John in the movie Robin Hood:
Prince of Thieves, and another 15 minutes to Hardraw Force, where our hero
took a shower under the highest unbroken cataract in England. Even more
romantic is Whitfield Gill Force, a short but slippery walk out from
Askrigg. This, by the way, is the village that doubled as Darrowby in
another screen blockbuster, All Creatures Great and Small.
All we ever seem to do in these Bolt Hole destinations is go walking
and drink beer.
Don’t be churlish. The Blue Lion has an exemplary wine list. And, if
you are sated by scenery, there is some rewardingly quirky shopping to be
done. Wensleydale has a thriving arts and crafts scene, supported by
refugees from the cities who have escaped here to paint, sculpt and
generally potter about. From jewellery and stained glass to pullovers and
teapots, if it’s old- fashioned and honestly made, you will find it in the
workshops and galleries of Middleham, Leyburn and Hawes.
Who should go? People who like walking and drinking beer. And
those who suspect they might, but always seem to end up lounging in the
fields instead.
Who shouldn’t? Those who think the phrase “great
British cooking” is as much an oxymoron as “Blue Lion”.
The Blue Lion (01969 624273, www.thebluelion.co.uk),
in East Witton, has double rooms from £69 to £89, including breakfast.
Dinner is à la carte; you’ll get three terrific courses for no more than £25
