Kirby Ravensworth
The Shoulder of Mutton at Kirby Hill does a nice pint, has two coal fires, and a good menu. Situated on the edge of a small escarpment looking North over the Holme Valley, the village of Ravensworth, and towards Teesdale. We were staying in Kirby Hill, a small village, hamlet really, round a green off the through road. Snow made it all idyllic, once we managed to get to and from Richmond to get food supplies (thanks Stephen and Colin – saved our Christmas potatoes). Delightful walks across snow-covered fields to Ravensworth (thanks for the tea and whiskey, Dorothy and William) where there is a ruined castle in the middle of a marsh. Going back up there was a lane too snowy for road traffic. It would have been the most wonderful toboggan run. After a couple of days of slight melting during the day and freezing at night it was more like a bobsled run – lethal, probably. Walks too along the edge of the moor, where the army, which usually uses it as a firing range, was having a Christmas truce. Altogether an excellent week in a flat converted out of the Old Grammar School (1640 something to 1957).
And we got there by train and 2 buses. Only downside to this was the cancellation of bus services on Xmas eve due to snow (see note above ref getting to and from Richmond) and Richmond Council’s refusal to provide any shelter for bus passengers in the square where all the buses start from.