Photo of The Black Bull, Sedbergh

“A smart market-town, coaching-inn with quietly classy food and a modern, relaxed style that retains a traditional pub feel but subtly updated. Calm and welcoming rather than pretentious, and only minutes from the M6 motorway.”

“A smart market-town, coaching-inn with quietly classy food and a modern, relaxed style that retains a traditional pub feel but subtly updated. Calm and welcoming rather than pretentious, and only minutes from the M6 motorway.”

Hotel Review

This 17th-century coaching inn, which had seen better days, was brilliantly rescued by James Ratcliffe and partner Nina Matsunaga in 2018 to give it a fresh cool look without losing its traditional pub feel. Stripped-wood floors, red-banquette seating and wood-burning stoves mix with pale-washed walls, exposed-stone and reclaimed timber while funky lights hang from beamed ceilings. Striking local photography gives a sense of place while Nina's Japanese heritage shows in earthenware pots of succulents and mossy ferns. Bedrooms are smart and uncluttered with rustic touches – local wool carpets, handwoven blankets and panelled feature-walls - mixed with a hint of Japanese in the grey-and-white colours, and sleek slate-and-shiny-white bathrooms. True, the standard rooms are quite small but the beds are huge and the bathrooms just as airy. Food is gastropub-standard with a hint of Asian influences, while the wine list - over 60 choices - is impressive and there are around eight real ales and craft beers. Relax in the beer garden with the Howgill Fells almost within touching distance. Something to do tomorrow, after one of Nina's excellent breakfasts.
 

Written by Helen Pickles

Recommended For

  • Country Escape
  • A country inn with good food and surrounded by fabulous walking country
  • Sights nearby
  • Local attractions include Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal, and Sizergh Castle
  • Great walks
  • From the doorstep onto the Howgill Fells, or in Yorkshire Dales
  • Other Activities
  • Visit the countryside Wensleydale cheese production site
  • Sit-out Terrace
  • Restaurant
  • Family Suites
  • Quiet
  • Owner managed
  • Gourmet
  • Romantic
  • Intimate
  • Luxury
  • Child friendly
  • Pet friendly
  • Inn
  • Chic
  • Historic
  • Boutique

Facilities

  • Sit-out Terrace
  • Restaurant
  • Bar
  • Family Suites
  • Parking
  • Wifi
  • Room service
  • Child friendly
  • Pet friendly
  • Garden

Activities

  • Sights nearby
  • Local attractions include Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal, and Sizergh Castle
  • Great walks
  • From the doorstep onto the Howgill Fells, or in Yorkshire Dales
  • Other Activities
  • Visit the countryside Wensleydale cheese production site

Map & Location

What's Nearby

Other Reviews

The Black Bull, Cumbria

In the ‘book town’ of Sedbergh on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, this revamped coaching inn offers sleek rooms and a daring, hyper-local approach to food

Originally published by The Guardian (view article)