England: The Angel Inn, Hetton, Yorkshire

We love nothing more than a traditional British pub, you know the ones – they serve real ale, have a roaring open fire and serve filling and delicious food. So when we were invited to spend the evening at The Angel Inn in Hetton located in the beautiful and picturesque Yorkshire Dales, England we jumped at the chance. With severe weather warnings in place for ice and snow we set off late afternoon, allowing ourselves plenty of time for what should have been a two hour drive. Unfortunately, there had been an accident on the motorway which meant it actually took nearly 4 hours to arrive at The Angel Inn. We pulled into one of the numerous parking spaces at the front of the inn and our initial impression was how welcoming it looked especially because of all the twinkly fairy lights decorating the railings.

Check in

We approached the bar and were greeted by a very welcoming and friendly lady. After apologising for being late and missing our table reservation in the brasserie, check in went extremely smoothly. As she was on her own at the bar, it did mean that a group of people had to wait 5 minutes or so for their drinks whilst she took our details and lead us over to Sycamore Bank, a modern development of four contemporary bedrooms, each of which has been individually decorated. We were shown to our suite – Sycamore, located on the ground floor of the building.

Sycamore Suite

The Sycamore Suite was a sight for very sore eyes. The room itself was massive and decorated in a very homely and cosy fashion. After a long day and an abysmal journey, it took all our determination not to jump straight into the large double bed and forget the outside world for a while. We didn’t of course; instead we explored our lovely suite which had an en-suite bathroom. The bathroom was also huge, allowing space for a freestanding bath and walk in shower to fit, with plenty of room to spare. Other features of the suite include beautiful flagstone wood furniture, seating area with flat screen TV, safe, dressing gowns, hairdryer, iPod dock, mini bar (payable), tea and coffee-making facilities with the all-important fresh milk (always a winner in my book, who likes UHT milk?), yummy homemade treats and the always essential Wi-Fi. Even though Sycamore Bank is a modern development, our suite, and I imagine the others too, have been decorated in keeping with the feel of the actual Inn, making it feel like a very welcoming home from home.

The light of the next day also revealed that we had the most wonderful terrace overlooking the Rylstone Fell and the Yorkshire Dales. It also appeared that the weather warning for snow had materialised and we were greeted with a magical scene as we opened the door to see the beautiful surrounding landscape covered in a layer of the white stuff.

Evening meal

With our stomachs rumbling we headed back to the inn where we enjoyed a pre-dinner drink at the bar before being shown to our table in the brasserie, right next to the log burning fire – in my opinion the best and most cosy seats in the house. Wine is also obviously a massive thing at The Angel Inn as they have an extensive wine list in the bar area and the food menu suggests wine pairings if you are unsure yourself. We opted for a lovely bottle of rosé Rioja which we loved and found complimented our food wonderfully.

Starters

• World Famous Angel’s Moneybag – Queens, prawns, salmon and white fish pieces, Julienne of peppers and courgette and a hint of tarragon, baked in crispy pastry served with lobster sauce.
• Whitby Crab Fritters – served with orange and chilli mayonnaise

Main Courses

• Award Winning Wild Boar, Sage and Apple Sausages – with creamed mashed potatoes and lashings of gravy
• Roasted Corn Fed Goosenargh Chicken Breast –  fresh penne pasta, trompette mushroom, sun blushed tomatoes and a creamy mushroom sauce

Dessert 

• 1/2 portion Angel’s Famous Sticky Toffee Pudding – butterscotch sauce and crème chantilly

Our meal was delicious and all plates where left clean. It is easy to see why The Angel Inn has won nearly every award going. Everything was fresh, tasty, well presented and filling. With seasonal produce from around the region. Meat and game from the Yorkshire Dales and Lancashire, fresh fish from the East and West coasts, legumes and soft fruit from the local farms and everything baked, cooked and produced on site, The Angel Inn is perfect for foodies. Mr ESLT particularly loved the Moneybag which was bursting with seafood. Pascal, a member of the family who owns The Angel Inn recommended it and explained that it had been on the menu for almost 30 years, with people travelling from far and wide to try it for themselves. I loved the fact that we could get a 1/2 portion of dessert. Even though we were so full, I always find room for my favourite course. I had the intention of sharing it with Mr ESLT and asked for two spoons, but when it came it was just too fabulous to share!

Breakfast

After a great night’s sleep we headed back to the Inn for breakfast, after so much food the evening before it was hard to believe that we were hungry again, but when we saw what was on offer, we suddenly were. We grabbed a table and ordered tea for two and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice each. We then perused the menu which featured a number of fish dishes, vegetarian platter and of course a full English breakfast. As we had a long day ahead of us and because we can’t say no to a fry up, we of course chose the full English breakfast, which was phenomenal, especially the poached eggs which were cooked to perfection. There was also a breakfast buffet table with lots of yummy fruits, cereals and pastries for us to choose from. As we had chosen the full English breakfast, we passed on the offerings, but there was a great selection if a continental breakfast is more your thing.

Check out

After breakfast we went back to our suite and packed our case before heading back to the Inn to check out. As with check in, this again was an easy process. We simply handed our key back, settled our bill and were handed a copy of the invoice.

Things to do in the area

North Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Dales in particular, are beautiful with plenty of things to do and see in the area. Being from Yorkshire ourselves it’s hard not to rave about how fantastic this area of England is, but it really is. If you have visited before, I’m sure you’ll agree and if you haven’t, you should, so you can experience its beauty for yourself. There are picturesque villages with narrow streets, antiques and artisan shops and there are two World Heritage sites – the National Trust property of Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Gardens. In fact, if you have never been to the area before there is so much it can be difficult to pick what you want to do or see, here’s a brief list to get you started:-

• Bolton Abbey
• Malham
• Grassington
• Skipton Castle
• Emsay Steam Railway
• Settle
• Pateley Bridge
• Kettlewell
• Worth Valley Raiway
• Haworth
• Salts Mill, Saltaire
• National Media Museum, Bradford
• Harrogate
• Ingleton
• Ribblehead Viaduct
• Newby Hall
• Ripon Race Course
• Masham
• Middleham
• Leyburn

Summary

In summary, we loved our stay at The Angel Inn, Hetton. It is easy to see why it is rated 5 Stars across the board. It was perfect for a night (or longer) away from it all. The Angel Inn is one of those places where you could visit and just enjoy doing nothing or pack your days full of fun and exciting things in the local area. Whatever you decide to do (or not do if you prefer), the suites at The Angel Inn are perfect for relaxing in and the food served in the brasserie is second to none. We found The Angel Inn to be a welcoming home from home with extremely friendly staff who take the time to speak to you on a personal level. It felt like nothing would have been too much trouble and we highly recommend a stay here. The Angel Inn also offers private dining options, wine tasting and intimate weddings.

• We were hosted by The Angel Inn on a DBB basis in exchange for honest review.