The Green Dragon Inn, Leyburn

A long established pub in front of the highest waterfall around, countless landlords have made a good living charging punters to visit the Hardraw Force. Now a much extended pub with rooms the front part is a multi-room pub with a great deal of stone based charm and open fires. There are three rooms with serving faces off the servery, a large back room entered first from the car park , and a second to the front left with a serving hatch and a smaller but more enticing front taproom, other rooms on the right lurk off a central corridor leading from the front door. There’s only a T-bar in the rear room, five pulls in the front taproom with beers from Wensleydale, Dark Horse and Theakstons. A popular tourist spot in Wensleydale obviously it gets busy but it’s old world charm makes it worth a visit even if you don’t cough up for the falls. The toilets are a trek from the main rooms but not quite Wetherspoons standard.

Visited back in March, but just realised I didn't leave a review at the time. Five pumps in total, I had a Brewgooder Global Gathering Pale Ale which was some kind of charity based ale at £2 for half a pint. The chap behind the bar said they were due to have a charity event on to raise more money for the same cause but this had been cancelled due to COVID-19. I can't remember what other ales were on, but I am pretty sure Askrigg Ale was also available. There was a real fire going, food was being served, there were picnic benches to the front, a piano inside, possibly a dart board too. A stone floor, bare stone walls, wooden beams, all in all a nice country pub. There are several rooms as you enter - the bar is to the left. The barman (or "Batman" according to the notes on my phone) was friendly. This is a nice little walk up from Hawes on a nice day and definitely worth a look.

an exceptional pub unchanged since the reviews below. Cosy, multi roomed inn with the buzz of conversation and a real community atmosphere. reminiscent of days long gone by, this is a wonderful must visit pub. Decent Theakstons ales and food available. The waterfall walk behind is no longer owned by the pub and costs £2.50 but is also very much worthwhile.

The pub's physical appearance has been well described by previous reviewers. Beers available at the time of my visit included two from local Yorkshire Dales brewery, which I find to be a bit samey, with the noted exception of Drovers Arms which sadly was not one of the two. Others were Landlord and a cycling themed special from Theakstons. My half of Leyburn Shawl (named after a landmark rather than an item of clothing) was in good condition but a bit underwhelming. There are a few seats in front of the pub, which were in a bit of a sun trap at the time of my visit, so I didn't explore the interior too much. Reading the reviews by John Bonser and Roger Button lets me know what I've missed.

Ancient Dales pub,slightly marred by an unattractive, if economically important, hotel block. The pub is full of nooks and crannies and interesting memorabilia. We sat in the Bar Parlour,admiring the fire in the range,on a wet October Monday lunchtime. On a previous occasion we admired the famous Force,but where slightly put off by the draughty corridor we sat in, together with a rather scarce meal. However,on this visit everything was fine and dandy,despite the house’s rather odd policy of locking the carpark gates during opening hours, with our car within. Beerwise, I enjoyed a couple from the nearby, and very good, Yorkshire Dales Brewery; also available were some of the usual North Yorks suspect, though I think that the pub rotates its real ales. A cracking pub,which is back in favour with us. Date visited:14th October 2013

In the small village of Hardraw, little more than a mile away from the bustling market town of Hawes, is The Green Dragon, a well known and characterful old inn. It’s a 13th century former coaching inn that still provides accommodation in letting bedrooms and a large bunkhouse As we approach the inn, we see a small old enamel sign by the entrance – “Hippies Use Back Door – No Exceptions”. We also see that mine host is one Mark Thompson – “Innkeeper and Waterfall Provider” A small passageway leads through to the main L shaped bar – denoted as “Parlour Bar” - on the left hand side. 2 adjoining rooms feature stone flagged floors, old antique furniture, low dark ceiling beams and two fine ranges. There’s plenty of old framed prints and photos to admire and, notably, a large impressive wooden plaque on which are inscribed a list of Patriarchs of Darlington Grand Division of the Sons of Temperance from 1885 to 1948. Subdued lighting from lanterns and the absence of any electronic distractions enhance the authentic olde worlde feel. Another adjoining area features a high arched roof and resembles a former barn. Here we see some farming implements hung on the walls, stuffed fish in glass tanks, a stuffed bulls head and a piano. On the right hand side of the passageway are further seating areas, but no bar servery. These rooms are in similar, traditional style. At the back is a large, more modern, typical function room. For those who don’t already know, the pub’s main claim to fame is its own waterfall, Hardraw Force, England’s highest unbroken waterfall. For the princely sum of £ 2, payable at the bar, one can take a short walk through a wooded glen on a gravel path at the back of the pub to view the 100 feet cascade, which falls through a gap in the rock face into the stream below. I gather that, when it has been raining heavily, the water cascades over the top of the rocks – but, disappointingly, this was not the case on my visit. On the way to the waterfall you pass a Heritage Centre block which, sadly, appears to be no longer open, and a number of picnic benches on the grass by the stream. On my two recent visits to the pub in September 2013, a steady flow of visitors called in to view the waterfall. Live music occasionally features and there’s an annual brass band competition. On my second visit, early one Saturday evening, several scruffy looking guitarists started up what appeared to be an impromptu and unstructured session of songs in the main bar, which were very well received by the usual mix of visitors and locals. I never did find out whether these musicians came in via the back door or not. 5 beers were on when I visited – Rudgate Jorvik Blonde, Theakstons Best, Dent Aviator, Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and Wharfebank Urban Fox. On my subsequent visit, Old Peculier was on which, at £ 3.45p, was notably cheaper than the T T Landlord - £ 3.80p. Beers sampled were in good form. The pub is a CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular. The pub is on a bus route and, during daylight hours, can also easily be reached by a short pleasant signposted walk across the fields from Hawes. You should definitely seek this pub out when the opportunity arises