The Penny Bun, Askwith, nr Ilkley, Yorkshire, UK - Explore & Book

"Arrive at this tall-gabled, Yorkshire-gritstone pub in the middle of a farming village on the eastern side of the Pennines – with views to Ilkley Moor – and you expect cheery fires, horse brasses, copper-topped tables and hunting prints on the walls. Step inside The Penny Bun, however, and golly – it’s very spare, very sleek and very brown. There are fat white candles glowing in the fireplaces, acres of polished floorboards, elegant bar stools, and some very cool jazz playing. A well-known hostelry for some 150 years, the Penny Bun is a smooth new interpretation of a British country inn, offering good food and good comfort in relaxed surrounds but in a consciously sustainable way. Think reclaimed oak flooring, cork-cladding, no fires or log-burners – and with bags of design elan: Ercol chairs in the restaurant and snug, clay plaster walls. The ground floor’s open-plan series of spaces, set with unfussy tables, suggests more eating than drinking is done here. And the menu makes good use of produce from nearby Denton Reserve which owns the pub. As with the five bedrooms upstairs, there’s a Quaker-like sobriety mixed with an elegant modern craftsmanship. A sophisticated retreat after a red-cheeked moorland hike in the Nidderdale National Landscape, an exploration of lovely Wharfedale, or a browse of Ilkley’s smart shops. Highs Views south across the Wharfe valley to moorland – including the famous Ilkley Moor – are mesmerising; especially over breakfast on a bright morning A sleek uncluttered style that’s both calming and luxurious Creative but not fancy menus with genuine local sourcing Home-made flapjacks in bedrooms plus a help-yourself cupboard of goodies including popcorn and old-fashioned sweets A careful use of candles that proves very effective Lows Bedrooms can feel plain – no art, perhaps a vase of dried leaves – some with only one armchair Lighting levels in bedrooms can be challenging No cooked dishes on the breakfast menu may not suit folks who are after a good Yorkshire ‘full grill’ No food served from Sundays 4.30pm until to noon on Wednesdays No twin beds" - Helen Pickles