The Red Lion, Burnsall:
This pub was a welcome refuge from the masses parked on the village cricket pitch. It has plenty of dining tables outside to sit by the riverbank to have a drink and some pub grub. We chose the restaurant for the evening meal and it was excellent – good service and food. Breakfast was equally enjoyable. I had booked into the Manor House which is up the road from the pub and in a quieter location – but the manager said he had upgraded us to the Red Lion – I was a little peeved but couldn’t be bothered arguing, and took him at his word. It was a good stay though.
http://www.themanorhouseuk.co.uk/
The Red Lion
The Monor House - a bit quieter
West Winds, Buckden:
The tea rooms were a welcome sight at the end of day two. The village of Buckden does not have much choice of accommodation – this one or the hotel. It was close enough to the Dales Way to be convenient. The welcome was good and after we had dumped our gear upstairs, we had a nice cuppa and a piece of cake – yum. The only downside was that the bedroom is a little snug and there is a dangerous step into the bathroom at the top of the stairs. The bathroom itself only has a bath, and for me it was a tight squeeze! No ensuite facilities in the rooms, not even a sink....but it was the cheapest on the route and clean and tidy. Breakfast was good and set us up nicely for the day.
http://www.westwindsinyorkshire.co.uk/
The Station Inn, Ribblehead:
Bit of a mixed bag this one – on the one hand it was a great welcome and has a good atmosphere. It kind of reminded me of the Kingshouse on the West Highland Way, as it is the only place to stay on the itinery I was following. The beer was great, but the rooms were a little dated, but ok. The food was also a bit hit and miss – I was up to my third choice before I found something on the menu, but when it arrived it was ok. Breakfast was also a bit quirky – make your own toast under the stairs. After all of that I enjoyed the stay and wouldn’t want to put anyone off staying here. It also has the benefit of the viaduct to visit after a meal.
http://www.thestationinn.net/
The Dalesman Inn, Sedbergh:
This was my favourite stop of the week. We had a superb room, freshly decorated and huge. The only drawback was the bathroom as the number 59 bus could see in from the top deck! But apart from that everything was perfect, from the first pint to the last. The food was good, the service was good and the bar was good. There are cheaper places to stay in Sedbergh and it is a matter of choice I suppose, but it worked for me.
http://www.thedalesman.co.uk//
The Highgate Hotel, Kendal:
My only mistake of the week really. The hotel was OK – a little dated and lacking facilities but it was too far from the Dales Way, at the end of a long day. But on the other hand it had a nice restaurant opposite. What I should have done was walk to Burneside and then ordered a taxi into Kendal. Burneside has only one choice of B&B as far as I know, and it was booked up when I tried for a room. The Highgate was like an old fashioned travellers hotel, with a fine cross section of people at breakfast. The food was good and they ordered us up a taxi to return to the path.
http://www.highgatehotel.co.uk/
The final day saw us return to Manchester by train from Windermere – on time and no changes which made a good end to the trip. I used Sherpa Van for the baggage transfer and every day the bags arrived without problems.
All of the places we stayed had a WiFi connection, which was handy as I had my
notebook with me, but apart from Day One at the Red Lion the rest were not so good...
Day Two - "the internet? No we only take cheques here"
Day Three - "Wi-Fi? Yes certainly...except someone forgot the password and now nobody can use it"
Day Four - " Wi-Fi? We forgot the password as well. Do you want a pint of Black Sheep instead?"
Day Five - see Day Two
Day Six – I went home
