The Falcon Inn, Skipton

Official site of The Falcon Inn - www.thefalconinnarncliffe.co.uk

Official site of The Falcon Inn - www.thefalconinnarncliffe.co.uk

Well described by my fellow scribes.This is what I'd always imagined a 'Dales'pub to be:unfortunately, most are not.Just enough ephemera to delight the lover of whimsy and Yorkshire cricket,but not enough to be a 'theme'.Unusually for anywhere north of say Norfolk, one is offered the chance of beer 'from the jug'.For this writer, coming from the depths of Kent, this is ideal,as I always prefer beer straight from the cask, when well kept. Here, the Timothy Taylor's Boltmaker was in pretty good form, and made a pleasant change from the strained and sparkled fare on offer north of the Rubicon. Yes, this is a proper homely pub.Ideal.

This is a really nice old fashioned pub, with multiple rooms of varying degrees of smartness and scruffiness, but all an absolute delight. There's a public bar, quite small, to the left side of the bar. The front dining room, on the right on entering, looks like a museum. Service is friendly, though can sometimes be a little distracted, due to multitasking. The small central bar counter now does have hand pumps, which will please those who don't like their beer served from a barrel or jug. The option still exists to avoid the modern contraption and go for the beer as nature intended - just ask. At the time of my recent visit there was Timothy Taylor Best Bitter (which I believe is what is now usually called Boltmaker) plus Saltaire Elderflower Blonde. In the past I've been disappointed to find this pub not open when cycling in the Dales in autumn. Their website says it's open all day, every day, which may be down to the current licensee, or it may perhaps revert to less complete opening in the off season again - best to check if making a journey to get here. Date of visit: 20th June 2017