25 Great Walkers’ Review

25 Great Walkers’ Pubs in the Yorkshire Dales received a great review recently courtesy of the Pub History Society.

Chairman Patrick Chaplin wrote about the book in the latest edition of the Society’s newsletter.

A big thank you to everyone involved in the PHS for their support and they have kindly allowed me to display their review here:

MIKE APPLETON – 25 GREAT WALKERS’ PUBS IN THE YORKSHIRE DALES

Over the years, I have read a large number of ‘pub walks’ books and found them, in the main, uninteresting. You might think this is because I am a pub-goer and have no inclination to use any pub as a base for a walk, circular or any other shape, but you would be wrong.

Just grabbing half a dozen such volumes from my bookshelves at random, I find they range from my home county of Essex (naturally), to Cornwall, North Devon, Surrey and Northamptonshire. The images in every one are black and white and, in most cases, the author omits even a brief account of the history of each pub.

Mike Appleton’s book 25 Great Walkers’ Pubs in the Yorkshire Dales breaks the mould.

Mike is an avid walker and caver and has made regular trips to the Dales ever since he travelled there years ago with his father. He admits to being obsessed with the area and its people and spends as much time there as he can. His passion for the Dales has resulted in the publication of his earlier works Yorkshire’s Three Peaks: The Inside Story of the Dales and 50 Gems of the Yorkshire Dales and now this new, pub walk-related, volume.

25 Great Walkers’ Pubs features many of the public houses that Mike has visited during his own travels in the Dales over the past three decades and it this experience, his fascinating prose and attention to detail regarding the history of each pub plus the exceptional design and presentation of his work by his publishers that, I believe, sets his book aside from the others.

Pubs featured range from the world famous Tan Hill Inn, near Reeth, the highest pub in England at 1,732 feet above sea level, to the George Inn, in the least well-known village of Hubberholme, both of which could be described as ‘in the middle of nowhere’. The Tan Hill Inn has been written about aplenty so it is good to learn about the lesser known pubs of the Dales such as the George, which, incidentally, is known as ‘the candle pub’ because of the tradition to light a candle in the window to signify that it is open.

Although I do travel to Yorkshire at least once a year, the only pub I have personally visited on the Dales is the New Inn at Appletreewick, a pub that PHS members may recall I wrote about a few issues ago, telling the story of the eccentric host John G. Showers. Therefore, I was very pleased when Mike Appleton sought permission to use some of the material from my article on the PHS website in his book. I am proud to be associated with this project if only in a small way. (In his acknowledgements Mike also mentions the Pub History Society.)

25 Great Walkers’ Pubs in the Yorkshire Dales is extremely well-written, informative and colourful being beautifully illustrated throughout and is a credit to both the author and his publisher Amberley. If, like me, you are a ‘non-walker’ this book can easily serve as a guide to some of the very best and most interesting pubs on the Dales.

Dr. Patrick Chaplin
Chairman,
Pub History Society
www.pubhistorysociety.co.uk

You can buy a signed copy of 25 Great Walkers’ Pubs in Yorkshire Dales – cheaper than anywhere else – from my store here.