Food & Drink
Pubs with rooms in the North York Moors
The simplest kind of moors holiday: eat downstairs, sleep upstairs, walk out of the door in the morning. Here's where to find inns with bedrooms across the National Park, and when a cottage suits better.
A pub with rooms is the traditional way to do the Moors, and it still works: no drive after dinner, breakfast before a walk, and someone behind the bar who knows what the weather is doing on the tops. Below is how the options break down by area, full accommodation advice is in where to stay.
Southern moors and the A170
The most convenient base for first-time visitors: Pickering has historic coaching inns with rooms on and around the market place, and the recently refurbished Cayley Arms at Allerston lets rooms alongside its bar and restaurant. You are minutes from Dalby Forest, the steam railway and Mathewsons at Thornton-le-Dale.
Quiet villages and the high moor
The Horseshoe Inn at Levisham is the classic dead-end-village inn with rooms, the steam railway stops in the valley below and the moorland walking starts at the door. Further north, the Lion Inn on Blakey Ridge has rooms in one of the most exposed and memorable spots in the National Park; see pubs with a view. Rosedale Abbey and the Farndale villages have small inns too.
Helmsley, Harome and the west
Helmsley is the smartest base on the moors: handsome coaching inns on the market square, the castle and walled garden on foot, and the celebrated dining inns of Harome a short taxi ride away. Handy for Rievaulx Abbey and Sutton Bank.
Esk Valley and the coast
Egton Bridge, Glaisdale, Lealholm and Danby all have village inns, several with rooms, and the Esk Valley railway means you can leave the car. On the coast, Whitby, Robin Hood's Bay and Staithes have pubs with rooms in the old parts of town, atmospheric, but expect steep streets, tight parking and premium summer rates.
What to check before booking
- Whether the room is above the bar, charming, but noisier at weekends.
- Parking: some village inns have none of their own.
- Dogs, cots and family rooms. Ask rather than assume.
- Whether food is served every night; some smaller inns close the kitchen midweek in winter.
- Event weekends (steam galas, wartime weekends, auction weeks) sell out first, see what's on.
Frequently asked questions
- Are there pubs with rooms in the North York Moors?
- Yes, many village inns and old coaching houses let bedrooms, including inns at Allerston, Levisham, Pickering, Helmsley and along the Esk Valley.
- Is a pub with rooms cheaper than a hotel on the moors?
- Usually it sits between a bed and breakfast and a country hotel, and often includes breakfast. But rates vary by season and rise sharply during events and school holidays.
- Can you get a pub with rooms near Bangers & Cash at Mathewsons?
- Thornton-le-Dale and Pickering are the closest bases to the Mathewsons yard, both within a few minutes' drive; see our where to stay near Bangers & Cash guide for drive times.
- Do moors pubs with rooms take dogs?
- Many do, usually in designated bedrooms and for a small charge. Confirm at the time of booking rather than on arrival.
Rooms, rates and kitchen hours are set by each inn and change through the year, check directly when you book. More places to eat in the food and drink guide.