Booze, fine ales and a sheep flipped on its back: [01A Edition]

Abstract

Could there possibly be anything more attractive on a winter's day? Booze is a hamlet in Arkengarthdale, which forms the northernmost ribbon of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, 10 miles south of Barnard Castle. At 1,100ft above sea level, it has stunning views, consummate solitude and is pock-marked with history. It's a terrific rambling destination ( a Booze encounter is enough to set heart racing and lungs bursting while thighs ache at its very mention. But what Booze doesn't have is a pub.

Thankfully, the Red Lion Inn, just down the fell at Langthwaite, caters for the Booze-induced thirst, but to appreciate a pint's full attributes, we recommend first drinking in the view of high pastures, low fields, dry-stone dyke mosaics and the clutches of settlements that pattern every dale.

Black Sheep ales are brewed in Masham, a dale or two "across there", and are recognised as the Official Beer of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Riggwelter (5.9pc alcohol by volume) is the ram- raider of the Red Lion's pair ( deep chestnut brown in colour with an aroma of freshly ground coffee plus a touch of banana and liquorice. Black Sheep Best Bitter (3.8pc abv) is a well-hopped, light golden refresher with a lingering bitterness and "Booze walk reward" written all over it.

A brisk walk in the fresh air, the aroma of woodsmoke, a country pub and a lunchtime appointment with Booze.

Could there possibly be anything more attractive on a winter's day? Booze is a hamlet in Arkengarthdale, which forms the northernmost ribbon of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, 10 miles south of Barnard Castle. At 1,100ft above sea level, it has stunning views, consummate solitude and is pock-marked with history. It's a terrific rambling destination ( a Booze encounter is enough to set heart racing and lungs bursting while thighs ache at its very mention. But what Booze doesn't have is a pub.

Booze is Old English for "bowehouse", the house by the curve. It was once a thriving lead-mining community and important contributor to the Industrial Revolution before cheap imports forced its abandonment, save for a row of homes and several farms. Today, the only sounds are from bleating sheep, a distant dog and disturbed pheasants.

Thankfully, the Red Lion Inn, just down the fell at Langthwaite, caters for the Booze-induced thirst, but to appreciate a pint's full attributes, we recommend first drinking in the view of high pastures, low fields, dry-stone dyke mosaics and the clutches of settlements that pattern every dale.

In the 19th Century, Langthwaite could count five inns and four beerhouses which supported the 1,500 people who lived in the dale. There are now only 40 permanent residents.

The Red Lion is a two-roomed country pub with huge beams, a large fireplace, high-backed settles and an anomalous stone counter where, on offer alongside the indigenous Black Sheep and Riggwelter Ales, are stamps, postcards, 35mm film, Elastoplast and every book ever published on the locality. It's a quiet, peaceable haven sheltering in a quiet peaceable heaven.

A note on the door invites gentlemen to remove their caps; the walls drip with local prints and memorabilia (including a fox's head and signed photographs of David Jason and Phil Collins).

Conversation is dominated by the announcement of a radical plan to restrict ownership of new homes in the Dales to needy locals and those working in the area. As in most rural parts, there is an overwhelming need for housing for young families who are completely priced out of the market. The Red Lion is also reckoned to be the world's most filmed pub. The pride of Langthwaite has provided the backdrop for the likes of All Creatures Great And Small, which ran on BBC1 from 1978; 80s costume drama, A Woman Of Substance, and Disney's 1976 production Escape From The Dark, a family feature about two lads who save pit ponies from slaughter.

Last month, Rowena Hutchinson clocked up the remarkable achievement of 40 years' service as landlady.

"You wouldn't do it if you didn't like it," she says. "There were no pubs in the family until my father moved us here from Leeds. He was a headmaster and was going deaf, so he decided to retire."

Rowena's business was in rose-breeding which she continued until the pub trade blossomed.

"I had 10,000 in the field across there." A 48ft greenhouse remains "across there", possibly lying fallow for her own retirement.

Black Sheep ales are brewed in Masham, a dale or two "across there", and are recognised as the Official Beer of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Riggwelter (5.9pc alcohol by volume) is the ram- raider of the Red Lion's pair ( deep chestnut brown in colour with an aroma of freshly ground coffee plus a touch of banana and liquorice. Black Sheep Best Bitter (3.8pc abv) is a well-hopped, light golden refresher with a lingering bitterness and "Booze walk reward" written all over it.

Riggwelter is Dales dialect for a sheep which has flipped on to its back and can't get up without help. It originates from the old Norse words "rigg" (back) and "velte" (to overturn). It's now one of the most popular beers in Scandinavia, with some 30,000 bottles shipped to Sweden in 2004.

The turn of the year has developed into the Red Lion's busiest session, with visitors filling up the nearby holiday cottages.

"At one time it was only locals in here over Christmas and New Year," says Rowena, "but people have this idea of an idyllic time in the Dales in front of a log fire with a slight smothering of snow outside."

Then she looks over her glasses with a follow-my-drift expression.

There is one cloud on the horizon, however. Black Sheep Ales may be as traditional as Yorkshire beers can be, but do we really have to rely on bar food that has travelled 400 miles?

Cornish nationally-available pasties, industrially wrapped in cellophane and smothered in a forgettable culinary experience (see also under Motorway Services).

The stroll between Red Lion and Booze isn't for the faint- hearted, either. Tarry a while ( walking may be bracing, but riggwelting is much more fun.

* For circular walks calling at traditional Yorkshire Dales pubs, see The Inn Way Guide to Black Sheep Pubs by Mark Reid (Innway Publications, pounds 5.95).