please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Stay away, I want to keep this place for myself. Once inside, there is no reason to leave. Step back 80 years in the pub that time forgot. Friendly landlord & locals, excellent ales, and good pie & sandwiches. If only the NYMR would stop their trains there.....
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one of the most incredible and charming pubs you'll ever find.
the setting is just ridiculously amazing, a stunning hamlet, nestled in the hill side of moorland and farmland, complete with a rocky river flowing beside the pub garden, and a train line that has a steam train going up and down it. on a bright and sunny winters day this was my idea of heavan on earth.
the pub itself is the most quirky and fantastic pub ive been in. the bar is just one small square room, with a warm fire burning away, and hunting scenes on the wallpaper. there is a serving hatch in the wall, which the barman serves you though. at first i thought i was in a side bar, but it turns out this is the whole pub, and the barman is actually in the village shop next door, which has an off licence. its a genuine hole in the wall pub.
on a december sunday, the place was full to bursting with incredibly firendly locals and tourists/ramblers filling up the all the benches and chairs that were crammed into the floor space. the smell of the wood burner and the warmth and sound of pople enjoying themselves was just bliss.
the benches out the front of the building were filled with walkers in wooly hats enjoying the sun on their faces and the pints in their hands, and the garden out the back looks onto a stunnig bit of river where a stone bridge, and rocky tree lined hill sides making the scene look magical.
one of the best pub experiences ive ever had. in my top 5 easily.
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What a wonderfully bizarre this little place is. Just the tonic when spending some time on the NYM railway. I must say, the beer wasn�t great, but this is one pub that you don�t necessary for the beer!
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This pub always gets a visit from us when in the area. A great spot! The bar is the smallest in England I beleave! Very welcoming and very unusual to say the least. Just sit out and enjoy and get away from Sky sports, piped music and all that. Colin always has time for a chat and you are made to feel at home.
Real ales change, some of the local brews are very good, check out the beer garden during summer its lovely. Very close to the river! Go in the lounge and get a suprise!
Highly recommended! Limited opening hours in winter.
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This must be among the most unusual pubs i have been in. Stumbled upon it quite by accident on a walk from Gothland back to our b&b in Egton bridge. You enter into a tiny bar where i thought was just a serving hatch was actually the bar. Ordered a pint of Copper Dragon and a cheese sarnie. It was a nice day so i headed off to the beer garden as the bar was full with around 8 people in.
The garden is very good too with a river flowing through it.
Any way the beer went down very well the sandwich was thick crusty bread and very reasonable at i think �2.80.
Would definitely visit this unusual pub again but it would be very hard to find as it is tucked away and one would need an ordnance survey map to find Beck Hole.
Wish i could have had several pints here but did not have time.
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If you fancy getting away from those environmentally unfriendly steam trains on the moors for a while then walk from Goathland to Grosmont and call in at this wonderful little pub. Always does good beer and a nice pie. Open all day during the Summer
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Of course pubs are a matter of personal taste. It is easy to recognise a bad pub - unfriendly, foul beer/food and filthy surroundings. A good pub is more difficult, but the Birch Hall is right up my personal street. On the basis that nowhere is a perfect 10, this one is a very solid 9. Remarkably lovely setting with places to sit outside and gaze across the valley. If you arrive on foot, this is the place to rest up - if by car, you may have to park a little way away. The shop is in the middle with bars on either side. These rooms are simple but with enough comfort to make your stay truly restful. Photos of Beck Hole in the post WWII period remind one how times have changed but the Birch Hall hangs on to some of the better aspects of the past. The food is very simple and restricted in range but high quality with good local pork-pies and stotties with tasty fillings. The beers inlude a house beer from North Yorkshire called Beckwatter and the guest beers are well chosen. Service through a hatch is friendly and very rapid - the stotties made immediately to order. Maybe not everyone will like the Birch Hall so much as I do but you'd have to be hard-hearted not to think it a remarkable and worthwhile place
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Really like this pub, beer very good top notch in fact,the people serving were friendly,yes it is trad. opening hours which we have no problem with. Area is fantastic.
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Agree that this pub should be open more...beautiful day with excellent conditioned ale but closed at 3. Please check opening hours for a visit, if not for the beautiful setting, the great beer check the quirkiness of the place.
One of the most enjoyable pubs ive been too.
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An excellent time warp establishment with it's own sweetshop in the middle. The Black Sheep and Backwatter (if I rembered it right) were both excellent. The pub and the surrounding area seemed to be populated with a host of eccentric characters during a number of visits, from a Biggles lookalike in a 1936 Riley sports car to what looked like extras from Last of the Summer Wine trying to hare up a very steep hill in an ancient Rover towing a massive caravan.
anonymous - 9 Jul 2009 18:37 |
why is it never open on a sunday afternoon??!! beautiful weather, gasping thirst=pub shut. it's so bloody frustrating! i've been too many times now and it's been shut. no wonder pubs are closing, you wouldn't get this on the continent, moan, moan, whinge, whinge.
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I must admit this is probably the nicest little pub that me and my wife have visited. After spending the weekend in a very nearby b&b and taking in a couple of the glorious walks around the surrounding area, we stopped off on our way back for a swift pint, nearly 5 hours later andmore beckwatter than i could poke a stick at we made the 100 metres to the b&b in about 15 minutes. The land lord gave us a very good run down of the area. one headache later we paid another visit and had a mighty fine sarnie and a pkt of fried vegetable crisps(weird) i,ll be back
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THIS IS A BRILLIANT PUB! I shouldn't say this too loudly because if too many people visit it, it will be spoiled.
It is a tiny little village pub which does 'traditional' beers - Black Sheep etc and traditional food - pork pies, cheese sandwiches etc. But it is quaint, unspoiled etc. There was a lovely open fire when I visited.
Many of the punters seemed to be walkers. Visit it. Walk round the hamlet of Beck Hole. It is beautiful.
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What is there to say about this pub that the previous reviews don't ?
It's a splendidly time-warped old fashioned pub in the small hamlet of Beck Hole , approx one mile from Goathland - the "Heartbeat" village. Thankfully, very few of the hordes of Heartbeat visitors seem to find their way here, even though it's quite close ( walking along the disused railway line path )
The pub is listed in CAMRA's National Inventory of Unspoilt Interiors .
There's two small bars either side of a sweetshop which sells sweets you probably won't have seem since you were a kid.
The "Big Bar" as its known, is wood-pannelled with a small serving hatch. There's a fireplace and plenty of old photos - eg Beck Hole Quoits Team 1951.
Beers on were the ubiquitous Black Shhep, Daleside Old Leg Over and Beckwatter Beck Holes Best Bitter. No pumps are visible in the Big Bar, beer is brought through from the other room - the "Little Bar".
Food consists of locally hand made pork pies and the Beck Hole butty with a variety of fillings.
There's a garden behind the pub, unfortunately closed during my visit due to recent rain.
This is another "must visit" pub - I've yet to meet anyone who thinks differently.
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On CAMRAs national inventory of historic pub interiors, which describes this pub and its history far better than I can. A quaint and interesting pub in a lovely location, with two tiny bars either side of a shop. The elevated garden terrace is popular and all manner of birdlife hopped along my table to watch me drinking my swift half ( feathered birds that is!! ). The sort of pub you wished you stumbled across in walking boots rather than by car, to fully sample all the ales on offer and to soak up the unique atmosphere.
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Hard to think of a more enjoyable place to have a pie and a pint, sat in the elevated beer garden with the sun shining. Very busy and justifiably so. Just off the path between Glaisdale and Goathland, an unmissable stop. Get there early to get a seat!
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What a really super place, great location, great beer, great service, pies to die for.
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Without doubt this is the finest licensed establishment in Yorkshire, if not the UK. Excellent beer, good sandwiches, top location. Splendid!
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Can't say anything more than whats been already said - just brilliant.
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Our favourite place on earth. I don't believe in heaven but if it existed it would be here! Sit outside in the sun during the day and watch the world go by - fantastic! Sit in the bar in the evening - even fantasticer!
alanl - 12 Jul 2006 21:28 |
Absolutely first rate.
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One of the fifty best pubs in England. It has changed little over 100 years. Great selection of beer on tap and wonderful pork pies. Watch out for the poltergeist, it knocks the beer glasses off one table.
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A wonderful Inn, especially if walking on the Moors. The location is superb as Beck Hole is a fantastic little village. The pub always has a selection of real ales that are always well kept.
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Absolutely fantastic pub - visiting this week, staying in Beck Hole too so looking forward to the beer. Beck Hole is our favourite place!!!!
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what a fantastic pub, like going back in time, great place
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A tiny pub, with 2 small rooms and a sweet shop. A beer garden to one side, the river to the other. The best place to sit is outside the front door, watching the world go by. Home made bread and great pies and scones.
Quite simply the best pub in the world.
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