The Lion Inn stands utterly alone on the crest of Blakey Ridge, the only building in a great sweep of open heather moor and, at 1,325 ft (404 m), the highest pub on the North York Moors — often cited as the fourth-highest in England and second only to Tan Hill in Yorkshire. Tradition dates it to c.1553-1558, built by monks as a refuge when carrying coffins across the tops; over four centuries it has served corn-and-fish traders, hosted moor-top cockfighting, and boomed in the 1850s on the back of Rosedale's ironstone railway. For walkers it is among the most coveted overnight halts of the whole Coast to Coast: arriving on the long Clay Bank Top to Blakey Ridge crossing after miles of trackless moor with no other shelter, water or food, the sight of its red roof is a small triumph. Today it is a family-run freehouse of low-beamed rooms, open fires and Yorkshire real ales, perched on the watershed where Farndale falls away west and Rosedale east. Book months ahead — beds here sell out a season in advance.
Highlights
- A 16th-century freehouse alone on Blakey Ridge, the highest point of the moors crossing
- Roots in the Crutched Friars, granted land here under Edward III
- Blakey Howe, the Bronze Age burial mound rising directly behind the inn
- Sunset over Rosedale from the ridge — the classic evening reward
- The only food, beds and shelter for miles in either direction
At a glance
| Period | Tudor (c. 1553) |
|---|---|
| Stage | 14 — Clay Bank Top to Blakey Ridge |
Take care
- High, exposed moorland — mist and driving weather arrive fast with little shelter
- The road outside carries fast traffic and visibility drops sharply in mist
History
Local tradition holds that the inn was raised between 1553 and 1558, when 'a bunch of green leaves or a bush was hung out after a brewing to welcome travellers,' and that monks built and used it as a resting place while carrying coffins over the moors — though fragments of medieval pottery on nearby coal-working mounds hint at far older occupation, possibly linked to a house plot and ten acres granted to the Order of Crouched Friars in the reign of Edward III. By the middle of the Georgian eighteenth century the farmers of the upper Esk dales — Commondale, Danby and the Fryups — ran a corn market here, surplus grain going to the horse-breeders and stable owners of Ryedale, and the moor behind the pub was notorious for cockfighting. The 1850s brought the inn's busiest era: the Rosedale ironstone boom and its railway lined the ridge with miners, and a branch tramway linked the Farndale workings to the main line (working until about 1900). Recorded landlords include John Portus (the earliest known), the Maws (who expanded the inn before emigrating to America), Mrs Potts who kept it as the Lion Inn in the 1870s, and the Johnson family who farmed alongside innkeeping. When the mines closed the trade collapsed; motor tourism in the 20th century revived it, and it remains a family-owned freehouse.
Myth & legend
Tradition traces the inn to the Crutched Friars, granted ten acres here under Edward III, who are thought to have raised an oratory and the ridge's first hostelry. The Lion also claims a friendly resident ghost, its presence often linked to Blakey Howe, the Bronze Age burial mound rising just behind the inn.
Geology
The inn sits on the broad watershed ridge of Blakey, formed of the Middle Jurassic sandstones and shales that cap the North York Moors. These hard, acidic strata weather to thin, peaty soils that support the vast heather moorland all around. To either side the land drops sharply into the dales of Farndale (west) and Rosedale (east); the iron-rich seams in Rosedale's flanks were the basis of the 19th-century ironstone mining that gives the ridge its disused railway trackbed.
Wildlife & nature
This is open-access heather moor — purple-blazing with ling and bell heather in late summer, managed in patches for red grouse, whose explosive call is the moor's signature sound. Walkers regularly see golden plover, curlew, lapwing, meadow pipit and red grouse, with merlin and short-eared owl hunting the tops. The ground is botanically sparse but distinctive: bilberry, crowberry, cotton-grass in the wetter hollows, and cloudberry in places.
The view
On a clear day the ridge gives a vast, rolling moorland panorama, with Farndale and Rosedale cutting away on either side and the Cleveland Hills ranged to the north-west. The finest set-piece is the heather itself in full August bloom, and the long, low light of a moorland sunset or sunrise from the pub's doorstep. The Rosedale ironstone railway trackbed sweeping in a great arc around the dale-head is itself a memorable sight.
Photography
Best light is early and late, when low sun rakes the heather and the isolated inn stands stark against the sky. Shoot the pub's red-roofed silhouette on the empty ridge; the heather foreground in mid-to-late August; the curving line of the old railway trackbed leading the eye to the dales; and Young Ralph Cross, the adopted emblem of the National Park, which stands on the moor road about a mile north of the inn. Big moorland skies and passing weather make for dramatic frames.
When to visit
Best walked May to September, with August unbeatable for heather bloom. The exposed ridge is bleak and disorienting in mist, rain or winter — there is no shelter on the long moor crossing before the inn. The pub serves all year and is the only refreshment on this section, but its beds book out a full season ahead for the May-September walking peak; reserve early. Given the long moor crossing, mind the daylight window in spring and autumn.
Getting there
By far the simplest access is on foot via the Coast to Coast or the Lyke Wake Walk, or by car (parking on site) on the Castleton-Hutton-le-Hole moor road. Public transport is seasonal and limited: the not-for-profit Moorsbus M3 links Pickering and Kirkbymoorside with the Lion Inn and Danby (the national park visitor centre), running on Sundays and Bank Holidays (and Saturdays in the 2026 season) roughly early May to late September. There is no everyday bus, so do not rely on transport as a bail-out.
Where to stay
The Lion Inn has 13 fully residential, en-suite bedrooms and is, for most C2C walkers, the overnight stop at this point — there is no village and nothing else to stay at on the ridge. Campers may pitch in the beer garden. Because it is the only accommodation for miles and a 'rite of passage' on the route, rooms sell out months ahead in the walking season; book as far in advance as you can. Baggage-transfer firms (e.g. Sherpa Van) serve Blakey Ridge, so you can have your pack moved on to the next stop.
Food & water
There is no reliable water on the moor before the inn on this crossing — fill up before you set off, as this is a notoriously dry section. At the inn itself, food and drink are served and water is available; it is the only refreshment point for the whole stage and well before Glaisdale beyond it.
Safety
The inn sits on high, exposed moorland at over 400 metres: mist and driving weather arrive fast, and there is almost no shelter on the ridge — carry waterproofs and check the forecast. The road outside carries fast traffic and visibility drops sharply in mist; cross with care. In an emergency dial 999 or 112 and ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue; for non-urgent medical advice call NHS 111.
Accessibility
The inn is reached by a public road and has parking, so it is approachable by car for non-walkers as well as on foot. The challenge for walkers is the approach, not the inn: the Clay Bank Top to Blakey Ridge stage is moderate — about 9 miles (14 km) of high, exposed, often boggy moor with a stiff early climb to Round Hill on Urra Moor (454 m, the highest point on the North York Moors) before easy miles along the old railway trackbed; the difficulty is exposure and route-finding in poor visibility, not technical ground. Inside, the inn is a historic, multi-level pub of low-beamed rooms with steps, which limits step-free movement — contact the inn directly about accessible rooms and facilities. Dogs are welcome (some bedrooms accept dogs on prior request); check the inn's current policy for bar and dining areas.
Visitor tips
Book well ahead for both beds and evening food — it is the only roof for miles and fills fast. Time your arrival for sunset over Rosedale, and carry a head torch if you are walking out after dark.
Listen: the audio guide
The full narration of this stop's audio guide, in text.
For hours the moor has been all around you, mile after mile of open heather under a wide sky, no house, no tree, no shelter. And then, on the long line of the ridge ahead, a low huddle of stone comes into view: chimneys, whitewashed walls, the promise of a fire. This is the Lion Inn on Blakey Ridge, one of the highest inns in all of England, and for the Coast to Coast walker it is the most welcome sight of the whole moorland crossing. The Lion stands alone at over four hundred metres, on the very roof of the North York Moors, and it has stood here since around 1553, in the reign of the Tudors. For close on five centuries it has done exactly one thing: shelter travellers on a bleak and lonely height. In the old days its guests were the working people of the moor, the drovers walking cattle to market, the miners who once dug ironstone and jet and coal from these hills, and above all the packhorse trains, long strings of laden ponies threading the ancient tracks between the moorland villages and the lowlands beyond. For all of them the Lion was a fixed point in a wild place, a fire and a roof and a drink at the highest, hardest part of the road. Look for four things when you reach it. First, the building itself, long and low and thick-walled, built deliberately to hunker down against the wind, its rambling rooms and low beamed ceilings the shape of centuries of weather. Second, look at the sheer emptiness all around, the great rolling sea of heather stretching away in every direction with barely a building in sight, and understand what an inn on such a spot has always meant. Third, on a clear day look out to the views, which on the best days run for many miles across the moors and dales, though this is a place where the cloud can just as easily close down to nothing. And fourth, look for the old tracks and boundary stones near the ridge, the routes of the packhorse men and the markers that guided them, for you are walking one of the oldest highways of the moor. Here is what those packhorse trains really were. Before there were proper roads across these tops, almost everything that moved over the moor moved on the backs of ponies. Sturdy little horses were tied nose to tail in long strings, sometimes twenty or more, each loaded with panniers of coal, lime, fish, wool or cloth, led by a driver on foot in all weathers. They followed narrow, well-worn causeways marked by standing stones, and a high, remote inn like the Lion was a vital link in that chain, a place to rest the animals, warm the men and wait out the worst of the weather before pressing on. When you shelter here, gratefully, at the halfway mark of your own long crossing, you are doing exactly what travellers have done on this spot for hundreds of years. A word on the moor itself. This is high, exposed country where the weather can change fast and the mist can swallow the path, so carry what you need, watch the sky, and keep your navigation sure between the shelter of one landmark and the next. From the Lion Inn the Coast to Coast runs on along Blakey Ridge and then begins its long descent off the tops at last, and over the coming miles it drops you eastward down into the green dale of Glaisdale and the lovely old packhorse arch of Beggar's Bridge, next on your walk. One last look back over that endless heather, one last warmth at your back, and on across the roof of the moors. Walk safe.
Common questions
How old is Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge?
Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge dates from the Tudor (c. 1553) period.
How do I get to Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge?
By far the simplest access is on foot via the Coast to Coast or the Lyke Wake Walk, or by car (parking on site) on the Castleton-Hutton-le-Hole moor road. Public transport is seasonal and limited: the not-for-profit Moorsbus M3 links Pickering and Kirkbymoorside with the Lion Inn and Danby (the national park visitor centre), running on Sundays and Bank Holidays (and Saturdays in the 2026 season) roughly early May to late September. There is no everyday bus, so do not rely on transport as a bail-out.
Is Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge accessible?
The inn is reached by a public road and has parking, so it is approachable by car for non-walkers as well as on foot. The challenge for walkers is the approach, not the inn: the Clay Bank Top to Blakey Ridge stage is moderate — about 9 miles (14 km) of high, exposed, often boggy moor with a stiff early climb to Round Hill on Urra Moor (454 m, the highest point on the North York Moors) before easy miles along the old railway trackbed; the difficulty is exposure and route-finding in poor visibility, not technical ground. Inside, the inn is a historic, multi-level pub of low-beamed rooms with steps, which limits step-free movement — contact the inn directly about accessible rooms and facilities. Dogs are welcome (some bedrooms accept dogs on prior request); check the inn's current policy for bar and dining areas.
When is the best time to visit Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge?
Best walked May to September, with August unbeatable for heather bloom. The exposed ridge is bleak and disorienting in mist, rain or winter — there is no shelter on the long moor crossing before the inn. The pub serves all year and is the only refreshment on this section, but its beds book out a full season ahead for the May-September walking peak; reserve early. Given the long moor crossing, mind the daylight window in spring and autumn.
Is there food and water at Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge?
There is no reliable water on the moor before the inn on this crossing — fill up before you set off, as this is a notoriously dry section. At the inn itself, food and drink are served and water is available; it is the only refreshment point for the whole stage and well before Glaisdale beyond it.
Where can I stay near Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge?
The Lion Inn has 13 fully residential, en-suite bedrooms and is, for most C2C walkers, the overnight stop at this point — there is no village and nothing else to stay at on the ridge. Campers may pitch in the beer garden. Because it is the only accommodation for miles and a 'rite of passage' on the route, rooms sell out months ahead in the walking season; book as far in advance as you can. Baggage-transfer firms (e.g. Sherpa Van) serve Blakey Ridge, so you can have your pack moved on to the next stop.
What should I know before visiting Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge?
Book well ahead for both beds and evening food — it is the only roof for miles and fills fast. Time your arrival for sunset over Rosedale, and carry a head torch if you are walking out after dark.
Is Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge safe to visit?
The inn sits on high, exposed moorland at over 400 metres: mist and driving weather arrive fast, and there is almost no shelter on the ridge — carry waterproofs and check the forecast. The road outside carries fast traffic and visibility drops sharply in mist; cross with care. In an emergency dial 999 or 112 and ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue; for non-urgent medical advice call NHS 111.
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