Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United Kingdom England Richmond Tan Hill Inn
AO Edited Gastro Obscura

Tan Hill Inn

At 1,732 feet above sea level, this spectacularly isolated yet surprisingly bustling bar is the highest pub in Britain.

Richmond, England

Added By
E Capemarsh
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  Alljengi
In the Bar   Michael Woodhead
The Inn in winter   Matthew Hatton
The inn beckons those walking the Pennine Way as a spot to rest their weary feet.   Graham Hogg
Feeding time at the inn.   malcolm tebbit
A sign marking Great Britain’s Highest Inn.   Chris Heaton
The snow vehicle.   Capemarsh / Atlas Obscura User
Tan Hill Inn   Stephen McKay
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Built for a long-vanished coal mining community, this lofty 17th-century hostelry survives by serving brews and food to passing campers, cyclists, and hill hikers drawn by the dramatic scenery of the Yorkshire Dales.

This surprising village pub without a village looks somewhat forlorn in the midst of a seemingly endless expanse of heather moorland. Mining activity on the windswept hill lasted from the 12th century until the 1930s, and there is evidence that suggests the former community of coal miners supported a pub in the area as long ago as 1586.

Rather than going the way of the industrial settlement it once served, the current 400-year-old inn on the summit of Tan Hill kept pouring pints throughout the 20th century for passing motorists and local hill farmers. Although local communities continue to support this somewhat distant pub, cyclists and campers constitute a large proportion of its customers, enjoying freshly cooked meals and facilities.

The lonely locale's diverse patrons are complemented by a multitude of often-bedraggled and weary walkers negotiating the grueling 268-mile-long Pennine Way footpath, which runs past its welcoming door. For this reason, despite its remoteness, the pub is often busy with customers desperate to bag a spot by one of the isolated inn’s roaring log fires to warm up and dry off their damp boots and clothing.

This exposed, wild, and windy hilltop is prone to rapidly deteriorating weather conditions. At the beginning of 2010, the inn gained notoriety when a snowstorm trapped a cohort of New Years Eve revelers inside the cozy venue for three whole days. Although food and drink supplies for the unexpectedly protracted party were sufficient, the inn now boasts its own specialty snow vehicle to avoid a repeat of the infamous incident.

Related Tags

Unique Restaurants & Bars Restaurants Bars Elevation Hiking Places To Stay

Know Before You Go

The best way to arrive at the Tan Hill Inn is, of course, by foot on a rainy day, to fully appreciate the crackling log fires. The inn offers accommodation as well as basic camping facilities and space for campervans and motorhomes. 

The roads leading to the inn are narrow, remote, and treacherous in poor weather. If driving from Keld, shortly after the turn-off on the B6270, there is a tricky uphill hairpin bend.

For curious fans of geographically extreme watering holes, Admiral Wells, 191 miles away in Holme Fen, Cambridgeshire, claims to be the country's lowest, at 13 feet below sea level.

Community Contributors

Added By

Capemarsh

Edited By

jooniur

  • jooniur

Published

June 6, 2019

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.tanhillinn.com
  • https://www.tanhillinn.com/news/new-year-revellers-stuck-in-the-pub-for-three-nights-thanks-to-the-heavy-snow/
  • https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/pennine-way
  • http://www.outofoblivion.org.uk/record.asp?id=467
  • https://www.nmrs.org.uk/mines-map/coal-mining-in-the-british-isles/yorkshire-coalfield/yorkshiredales/tanhill/
Tan Hill Inn
Tan Hill Inn
Long Causeway
Richmond, England
United Kingdom
54.455573, -2.160429
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Swaledale Corpse Way

North Yorkshire, England

miles away

Crackpot Hall

North Yorkshire, England

miles away

Buttertubs Pass

North Yorkshire, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of England

England

United Kingdom

Places 2,219
Stories 145

Nearby Places

Swaledale Corpse Way

North Yorkshire, England

miles away

Crackpot Hall

North Yorkshire, England

miles away

Buttertubs Pass

North Yorkshire, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of England

England

United Kingdom

Places 2,219
Stories 145

Related Stories and Lists

The Most Remote Restaurants in the World

List

By Luke Fater

Related Places

  • Hoppin John Risotto

    Williamsburg, Virginia

    Chowning’s Tavern

    Enjoy dishes that founding fathers once ate at this Colonial Williamsburg pub.

  • The heated lava rocks bake the pizza.

    San Vicente Pacaya, Guatemala

    Pizza Pacaya

    For this chef, an active volcano is his oven.

  • The Rainbow Bar & Grill exterior.

    West Hollywood, California

    Rainbow Bar & Grill

    An Italian restaurant became a rock-and-roll hangout and the lair of the "Hollywood vampires."

  • Essex, Connecticut

    The Griswold Inn

    British troops and Prohibition couldn’t stop this spot from becoming one of the United States' oldest continuously-run taverns.

  • San Diego, California

    Fathom Bistro, Bait, and Tackle

    Get fishing gear and craft beer at this restaurant on the pier.

  • Defiance, Missouri

    Defiance Roadhouse

    Who said a biker bar is no place for a taxidermy squirrel collection?

  • It’s a hidden gem of one of the busiest streets in Houston.

    Houston, Texas

    The Hobbit Café

    A taste of Middle Earth, in the middle of the Bayou City.

  • Ridgedale, Missouri

    Bat Bar in Lost Canyon Cave

    If there's another drive-through golf-cart bar in a bat-filled cave on top of a mountain, we don't know about it.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.