The highest pub in Britain

Located in a remote expanse of the Yorkshire Dales, the inn has weathered the elements for centuries but is now battling a new challenge: rising energy costs.

Cautiously reversing, an unhealthy grinding sound came from my vehicle as its four-wheel drive fought for traction. I was on sheer ice. The main roads and towns were blissfully clear, but turning off onto jagged moorland tracks for the final 30 minutes of my drive, the conditions worsened mile by mile. These are the joys of visiting Tan Hill Inn in December. 

Tan Hill Inn is isolated in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales, a desolate expanse of moors, valleys and hills in northern England. When William the Conqueror’s surveyors ventured here in 1085, they promptly left after jotting down a single word to describe the surrounding area’s setting: “wasteland”.

As the highest pub in Britain (located 1,732ft above sea level), the weathered, 17th-Century stone structure has long attracted locals and hardy wanderers, but its remote setting means visiting is not for the fainthearted. However, those who make the journey are rewarded with a cosy bar next to a roaring hearth, traditional British treats like giant Yorkshire puddings and guest rooms upstairs, should they choose to settle in for the night. With a whiteout on the horizon as I approached, as well as sheet ice underfoot and bleak moorland as far as I could see, some rural hospitality was much needed.

The area surrounding the Tan Hill Inn was once called a “wasteland” by William the Conqueror’s men (Credit: Eibhlis Gale-Coleman)

How the inn has managed to survive for hundreds of years in such harsh conditions is mind-boggling. Tan Hill is regularly battered by ice storms, snow drifts and high winds. Survival became even more difficult after the 2022 British energy crisis when the inn saw its electricity bills rise by £100,000. Yet something about it still draws thousands of ambitious cyclists, hikers, sightseers, road-trippers and stargazers each year – Tan Hill’s high elevation and lack of light pollution mean the inn is one of the few places in England occasionally graced by the Northern Lights.

The area surrounding Tan Hill has always been on the edge of British history. Its name comes from the Celtic phrase “Tan Heol” (Hill of Fire), and from the 6th Century, Celts would meet here for fires, rituals and sacrifices. Tan Hill was also narrowly bypassed by a Roman road, and nearby at the parish of Stainmore, a legendary battle took place between the Viking Eric Bloodaxe and the Earl of the Kingdom of Northumbria. There is local folklore, too, including rumours that Mary Queen of Scots and 18th-Century highwayman Dick Turpin paid visits.

Yet, I’d be surprised if any of these historical visitors ventured to Tan Hill in the winter.

“I’ve only seen a gritter [a vehicle that spreads grit on roads in icy weather] on that road twice in my life,” the bartender, Hayley, laughed as I stepped inside. The bar was a flurry of kitschy memorabilia and felt like a Yorkshire version of a Route 66 saloon. Draft beers were pulled from gleaming gold tap handles, beer mats were pinned like stickers across the exposed ceiling beams, and a stand filled with calendars of the inn for sale stood next to the bar. I played it safe and ordered a cappuccino. Navigating those moorland tracks home would require a clear head. 

In nicer weather, the inn attracts hikers, road trippers and star-gazers (Credit: Mark Dunn/Alamy)

In nicer weather, the inn attracts hikers, road trippers and star-gazers (Credit: Mark Dunn/Alamy)

I took a stool by the fire, and a fellow visitor cheerily called to me from across the room, asking if I’d seen a blue van along the road leading up to the inn. When I replied yes, her face lit up, and she sighed with relief: “Good, it’s still there”. She had fallen victim to a nasty curve in the road just before a steep hill, and the van couldn’t build enough acceleration to get over the ice. The two women and their children were stranded – quite happily so – and planning to reattempt the journey and return to the main road. After an English breakfast, of course. 

Hayley reappeared with the cappuccino and invited me to look around the inn. She led me through the low, wood-beamed ceiling and stone-floored rooms and out the back into a converted barn with strobe lights and a stage for concerts. Before opening the adjoining door, she pointed to an igloo-like transparent dome outside – “our stargazing pod, beautiful in summer”. It would arguably be even more exciting in winter under the Northern Lights, if you could brave the cold. 

The pod was designed as a bedroom where guests could fall asleep under the stars. However, for now at least, the transparent dome is available for stargazing dining experiences. Inside, a table is topped with a fancy white cloth, and guests are served meals under some of the darkest skies in the UK. The polycarbonate material is transparent for optimal stargazing, yet over 200 times stronger than glass – a necessary precaution considering Tan Hill’s extreme weather.

Those wanting to spot the Northern Lights will need to monitor the Northern Lights forecast and apps. November to February is the prime “Northern Lights season”. The Dark Skies Festival (held 10-26 February this year) runs annual events with telescopes across the surrounding Yorkshire Dales National Park, and hosts an event at Tan Hill Inn most years. It is worth pencilling in, especially since 2022 saw the park designated as an International Dark Sky Reserve.

The surrounding Yorkshire Dales National Park was recently designated as an International Dark Sky Reserve (Credit: Stephen Dinsdale/Alamy)

The surrounding Yorkshire Dales National Park was recently designated as an International Dark Sky Reserve (Credit: Stephen Dinsdale/Alamy)

To spot the Northern Lights, you’ll need clear skies, but in recent years Tan Hill has made headlines for its exceptionally snowy skies. In November 2021, 3ft of snow fell outside the Tan Hill Inn during Storm Arwen and left those enjoying an Oasis tribute act stranded for three days. The story made national news, and a reunion of the snowed-in guests is planned for this year. The inn is adept at handling such disasters, and stranded staff members and guests simply stay overnight in the inn’s guestrooms upstairs. However, it does create some logistical and staffing issues, and the team must think fast and creatively to cope in difficult weather. On one such night, Hayley did. 

“I said my husband has bar experience – [just] not here,” she laughed, “but bar experience all the same. We ran the barn together for over 100 people attending a tribute act night.”

Understaffing is all too familiar in hospitality, especially with rising living costs narrowing profit margins. Tan Hill Inn experiences these issues much more acutely, with harsher conditions, colder rooms to heat and the underlying worry that staff won’t manage their commute. When I showed up, Hayley’s teenage daughter was helping work the tables after another employee couldn’t make it in.

According to the Tan Hill Inn’s manager, Nicola, running such a remote pub requires strict organisation. Case in point: the pub relies on diesel deliveries for electricity. “As long as we order on time, we don’t have any issues,” she said. “The owner has upgraded the system, and he is able to check online how much is left in the tank.”

The inn's has been around for hundreds of years, but rising electricity costs now threaten its survival (Credit: Eibhlis Gale-Coleman)

The inn’s has been around for hundreds of years, but rising electricity costs now threaten its survival (Credit: Eibhlis Gale-Coleman)

Even the best-laid plans are vulnerable, though, and Nicola recounted some bumps in the road. In 2019, an ice storm damaged the electricity generator and left guests and staff sitting in candlelight for an evening. And once, the diesel was stolen, again leaving the inn with no electricity. “Our breakfast chef cooked breakfast on a BBQ, and I boiled water on the fire in the main bar to make tea and coffee. We had an emergency delivery of diesel later that day,” she said.

All too soon, it was time to settle my bill and head back onto the moorland roads to skid my way home. Tan Hill’s strength is its sheer entrepreneurial drive and family spirit, a resilience instilled by centuries of weathering the elements. Every day brings a new idea, event and problem to solve.

I’ll be keeping my eye on the Northern Lights predictions this month. As soon as I get that high-alert notification, I know where I’ll be booking dinner.

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