The Kings Head, Skipton

Another gastro pub - how many does one village need? More space to sit than at the racehorses and the chance to try Dark Horse - previously unseen. Photos at my walking blog - http://bit.ly/22QBejl

We popped in to check out the food offering, as I had remembered that the vegetarian choices were pretty good on my previous visit. The internal decor is now gastro-pub grey and the food is expensive and what I would class as poncy, not the filling grub I need after a day's cycling. There are still a couple of hand pumps on the bar, and I came back later after eating at the Blue Bell to try out the local Dark Horse Hetton Pale - a beer that is described elsewhere in these terms: "Lemon barley and slate aroma. Flavour has almond, mineral grassiness and a big hop punch." To be honest it didn't do much for me; I may have missed the slate aroma. To be fair, the beer was no more expensive than in the other pubs in the village and there's still a pub here, struggling to break free from its gastro chains.