‘A real village pub where locals meet, gossip, share news’, this 19th-century drovers’ inn ‘also happens to have a rather good restaurant’ and 'rather smart bedrooms', advises a Guide inspector. Formerly the Inn at Hawnby, it was relaunched in November 2023, with Sam Varley, chef and co-owner of the highly regarded Bantam restaurant in Helmsley, in the kitchen. A hidden gem, indeed, it is approached by narrow lanes. The bar is ‘all you want it to be: inviting fire, scrubbed tables’, the odd stuffed owl and fighting cocks, while ‘teal walls and blue velvet cushions on window seats hint at a designer’s eye’. The restaurant, painted deep forest-green, 'has a beguiling warmth and simplicity’. A penchant for dark green is evident also in the simple, stylish bedrooms, most with shower, two with bath. There is a short bar menu (cheddar rarebit, pork pie, devilled kidneys), and an ambitious main menu of dishes such as roast monkfish, white beans, confit tomatoes, or tandoori quail. On fine days, you can dine alfresco, drinking in the views with a pint of hand-pumped beer (a tawny ale, maybe?). Walkers and country-sports enthusiasts are in their element here in the North York Moors National Park.