The Blacksmiths Arms, Lastingham: Five Years On and Still One of the Best Pub Stops in the North York Moors

If you are searching for The Blacksmiths Arms in Lastingham, there is a good chance you are looking for more than just somewhere to eat.

You are probably looking for:

• a proper North Yorkshire pub
• a good walking route
• somewhere with character
• or simply a reason to spend a day in the North York Moors

This week brought two reasons to talk about The Blacksmiths Arms.

Firstly, the pub has just been announced as one of the winners of The Telegraph’s National Pub Day competition, earning a £5,000 community bar tab.

Secondly, yesterday marked five years since Ali Moran took on the pub.

Having visited regularly over those five years, it feels fair to say the place has become firmly woven into the landscape of Lastingham itself.

The National Pub Day winning Blacksmith’s Arms in Lastingham (and a half pint of Old Peculier)

A Pub That Feels Part of the Moors

Today Alastair headed over after a morning birdwatching on the moors nearby.

Lunch was interrupted slightly by the arrival of a photographer and journalist covering the Telegraph award, but it summed the place up rather well. The pub was busy, welcoming and full of walkers, locals and visitors escaping into the countryside for a few hours.

The Blacksmiths Arms is not trying to be fashionable.

Instead, it succeeds at something much harder:
being exactly the sort of pub people hope to find when they head into the North York Moors.

Expect:

• good beer
• straightforward food done properly
• dogs stretched out beside tables
• and conversations between strangers that somehow happen naturally

And yes, they still pour a very decent pint of Theakston’s Old Peculier.

The Blacksmiths Arms in Lastingham in the North York Moors National Park, winner of national pub week

Our Favourite Walk to The Blacksmiths Arms

Over the years, one of our favourite circular walks has become the route from Hutton-le-Hole to Lastingham and back again.

The walk combines:

• open moorland
• woodland tracks
• ancient pathways
• quiet country lanes
• and wide North Yorkshire views almost the entire way

Halfway round comes the important bit:
lunch at The Blacksmiths Arms.

You can find the full walking route here:

Walk to The Blacksmiths Arms, Lastingham

It is one of those walks that changes completely with the seasons.

In spring there are fresh greens, birdsong and bluebells in the woods.

Summer brings heather, curlews and big skies across the moors.

Autumn often means low sunlight, mist in the valleys and the first fires being lit inside the pub.

Even winter has its appeal, especially when the reward at the halfway point is a pint of Old Peculier.

Why People Seek Out The Blacksmiths Arms

The North York Moors has no shortage of scenic villages or pubs.

What makes places like The Blacksmiths stand out is authenticity.

Nothing feels overly polished or manufactured. It feels lived in. Local. Part of the village rather than separate from it.

That matters more and more these days.

People visiting North Yorkshire are often looking for places that still feel connected to their surroundings, whether that is a village shop, a market, a walking route or a pub that has become part of local life.

Five years on from taking over, Ali Moran and the team have clearly built exactly that sort of place.

Staying Nearby

At Cliff House Holiday Cottages, many of our guests are looking for this kind of day out.

Not attractions ticked off a list.

Just:

• a good walk
• a good lunch
• fresh air
• birdsong
• and somewhere worth lingering a little longer than planned

The route between Hutton-le-Hole and Lastingham remains one of our favourite ways to spend a day on the moors.

Especially if there is a pint of Old Peculier waiting halfway round. 🙂