13th May 2008
Hidden gem but well worth finding...
Long before ITV got their formulaic talons into the subject probably roughly pigeonholed as “quaint country yesterdays”, The Birch Hole Inn was a diligent community servant and remains a perfectly preserved anachronous antiquity – an impeccable Victorian watering hole, originally for quarry workers, within a stones throw of Goathland - home to ITV’s “Heartbeat”.
Whilst this cloyingly candy coated counterfeit drama was doing its best to reinforce the Northern stereotype of an asinine rural community muddling through life, The Birch Hole was probably metaphorically shrugging its bucolic shoulders and getting on with what its always has – authentically !!
There are 2 bars – the ironically titled “Big Bar” which is ten foot square, comprising wooded benches, tables and an evocative large open fire ready to repel a cold winters evening, and a “Little Bar”, which they tell me, has improbably housed 27 people and a dog:- obviously Class 2b of the local primary school and their pet Bichon Frisé then !!
The diminutive proportions of The Birch Hole do not deter the public though - a mixture of ramblers, Heartbeat tourists and locals, who come in their droves to sample the atmosphere, very well kept beer and the sandwiches and savoury pies from the local butcher. The drink is dispensed through a hatch and the choice belies the limited serving space, with usually 3 Real Ales from local breweries as well as standard lager and a decent range of optics. The freshly made sandwiches served on bread known as stotties are excellent and the perfect rustic accompaniment to soak up the alcohol.
The adjoining shop completes the pastoral idyll. Having opened 9 years before the pub in 1860 and serving what only small remote shops do – as in whatever it can – it supplements the income of the pub, perhaps crucially. Served alongside the assorted alcoholic offerings then, you have a wonderful selection of old fashioned sweets, including the obligatory Barley Sugars & Gobstoppers all waiting to be weighed out on the antique brass counter-weighted scales.
In short – utterly enchanting, and you know - amongst the jars of confectionary I could have sworn I saw a particular variety of humbug called Heartbeat…!!!
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