Moorland pubs with a view

A view is the one thing a moors pub can offer that a city pub never will. These are the inns where you want an outside table, or the window seat on a wild day, all of them pairing with a walk or one of our driving routes.

The Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge

The high-moor benchmark. A 16th-century free house stranded on Blakey Ridge at around 1,325 feet, with Rosedale falling away one side and Farndale the other. Low beams, log fires and hearty food inside; benches and an enormous sky outside. It stands on the Blakey Ridge road and on the Coast to Coast path, so walkers and drivers meet at the same bar. Book for meals, especially weekends.

The Fox & Rabbit Inn, Lockton

On the A169 north of Pickering, this 18th-century inn looks south across the Vale of Pickering from its windows and terrace, on a clear day the Wolds are visible. It is the obvious lunch stop between Dalby Forest and the Hole of Horcum.

Above Rosedale and Farndale

Drop off the ridge into Rosedale Abbey and the pubs there trade the panorama for a valley setting under the old ironstone kilns. Farndale, famous for its spring daffodils, is served by village inns at Church Houses and Low Mill. Both dales are reached by steep, single-track roads, Chimney Bank out of Rosedale is one of England's steepest at about 1-in-3, so take the gentler approaches if you are towing or driving an older car.

Sutton Bank and the western escarpment

Sutton Bank is billed as "the finest view in England", looking over Lake Gormire to the Vale of York. There is no pub on the brow itself, the National Park visitor centre has the café. But the villages below at Kilburn, Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe and Ampleforth all have inns within a few minutes' drive, and Byland Abbey is on the doorstep.

Sea views on the coast

On the coast, the view swaps heather for the North Sea. Robin Hood's Bay has pubs at the bottom of the bank almost in the water at high tide; Staithes, Runswick Bay and Sandsend all have bars looking out over the beach, and Whitby's harbourside pubs sit under the abbey headland. Parking is the constraint on the coast, not the pubs. Use the clifftop car parks and walk down.

Getting the most from a view pub

• Late afternoon in August gives you the heather in full colour and low, warm light.
• Remote inns can be quiet midweek in winter and rammed on a sunny Sunday, book for food either way.
• Check the forecast: on Blakey Ridge the view can vanish into cloud while the valleys stay clear.
• Combine with dark-sky stargazing, the high moor has some of England's darkest skies once the sun goes down.

Frequently asked questions

Which North York Moors pub has the best view?

The Lion Inn on Blakey Ridge is the classic answer: at around 1,325 feet it looks out over Rosedale and Farndale in almost every direction.

Is there a pub near Sutton Bank with a view?

The escarpment itself has the famous Sutton Bank viewpoint and a National Park visitor centre café; for a pub, the villages below at Kilburn and Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe are the nearest options.

Can you walk to the Lion Inn?

Yes, it sits directly on the Coast to Coast route and on the Rosedale and Farndale moorland paths, so it is a common walkers' stop as well as a drive.

Do high moorland pubs close in bad weather?

Roads over Blakey Ridge and the high moor can close in snow or drifting, and remote inns sometimes reduce hours in winter, so check before setting out.

Opening hours, menus and access change with the season and the weather. Check with the pub before travelling. More options in the full food and drink guide.