The Black Swan

The 18th century Black Swan sits at the meeting point of three northern counties with the hotel itself located in both the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Cumbria, according to the pub’s website. Re-entering the list for 2023, this pub is more than worthy of its place.

With the Pennines, County Durham and Lancashire all within a 20-minute drive, you’ll be hard pushed to find a better place to satisfy both your wanderlust and tastebuds on this year’s list.

The Black Swan is no stranger to both local and national accolades either, having scooped two AA Rosettes, Cumbria Tourism’s Pub of the Year gong in 2019, Best Inn at the 2018 Great British Pub Awards and even been named AA Pub of the year for England in 2013.

In addition to an already enviable accommodation offer, the Black Swan also boasts new glamping facilities comprising three riverside yurts in the pub’s private forest garden.

However, the reason they’ve landed at number 20 in this year’s list is their enviable food offer, which under chef Scott Fairweather, revolves around locally sourced, seasonal Cumbrian dishes and hinges on strong relationships with local producers.

Its sample menu features dishes such as chicken liver pate with grape jelly and treacle bread to start and Barnsley chop with swede puree, broccoli and green olive & mint dressing for mains. All of which guests can wash down with a locally sourced cask ale, a broad range of lagers and ciders or one of a number of hidden gem local Cumbrian spirits