With flagstoned hallways, enormous bedrooms and wisteria at the windows, this beautifully restored manor house on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales leaves guests on a high
The journey to Ingthorpe Grange is going to go down as one of my all-time favourites. Travelling south across the Pennines is sheer car-advert stuff. We skirt the dales, turning off the A65 just before Skipton and end up ? at the sonorous command of the satnav Irishman ? in a farmyard. Oops.
I give in and telephone (which ruins my personal best of 15 reviews in a row without assistance). Now we're on the right track (no, it really is a track), which deposits us on the driveway at Ingthorpe Grange.
Ooh ? some house. I would say posh, but then again, hens are scratching about in the porch. Here's our B&B landlady, Leslie Lockyear, who moved (it says on the website) from Petworth in West Sussex with husband Sean and three children. That's a bit of a scenery shift.
We catch a waft of something fragrant in the flagstoned hallway, and glimpses of vast rooms. Up, first, to deposit our things. This time, I'm bagging the biggest room (and by that I mean biggest ever, ever, in a B&B, with a bathroom to match) and Clare is in a more manageably proportioned pink room overlooking a pizza oven in the back garden. She has a large bathroom along the hall.
From the natural arrangement of fresh flowers to stone mullion windows, the Julian Chichester modern four-poster to the depths of a bath with a view of cows grazing ? the room is so fabulous, I wish I could spend all evening up here.
"She's managed to make an austere house light, airy and informal," says Clare, hitting the nail on the head as we trot down for tea in the comfortable expanse of drawing room.
Through foliage which tickles the windows, we have far-reaching views across a small formal garden to endless pasture. No light pollution tonight, that's for sure. Leslie brings tea and explains that she worked for the Max Mara fashion label in Chelsea, but wanted to return to the north (she is from Lancashire). Her passion now is interiors. She and Sean renovated the house seven years ago, but began B&B in 2009, persuaded by the owners of nearby Hellifield Peel Castle (featured on C4's Grand Designs and now an upmarket B&B) who needed somewhere to recommend when they were full.
"If people come expecting giant flatscreen TVs and shiny marble, it's not going to happen," Leslie says. "You might lose a bit of water pressure when you're having a shower, but people look relaxed when they leave."
We're falling under Ingthorpe's spell, but also getting hungry. Leslie reserves us a table at foodie pub The Angel Inn at Hetton. Armed with directions, we hit the road again and find that most encouraging of scenes ? busy staff, and punters crowding to get in. We make the most of a piscatorial menu. Proven�al fish soup, seabass with seared queenie scallops and lobster sauce, cod with broad bean puree and warm tartare sauce. What a find.
I hit the sack with a sense of wanting to hold on to the night, to savour every moment in this perfect setting, the sweetest air drifting in through windows which open through a curtain of wisteria.
The dining hall, in which breakfast is laid, evokes monastic refectories. Nothing abstemious about breakfast ? a salad of soft fruit eaten off Villeroy & Boch, spot-on poached eggs and, according to Clare, "very nice, light, unsmoked bacon". This is a fantastic B&B. We leave Yorkshire on a high.
? Booking advised for The Angel Inn (01756 730263, angelhetton.co.uk). Starters from �6.25, mains from �12.95
WHAT TO DO IN THE AREA: BY THE LOCALS
A day out
Ingthorpe sits amid the drumlin fields of Gargrave, soft hills formed in the last ice age ? from high up they resemble a basket of eggs. Footpaths and bridleways crisscross the area. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is not far and a walk along its banks is wonderful. For the more adventurous we are close to the dramatic craggy landscape of Malham Cove, a world heritage site.
Leslie Lockyear, landlady of Ingthorpe Grange
Bolton Abbey (boltonabbey.com, �6 per vehicle, including all passengers) is a 20-minute drive away. You can visit the ruins and walk along the River Wharfe. Drive into the moors and visit Haworth, home of the Bront�s. Not only can you imagine yourself in one of the novels but you can explore the steep, cobbled streets and the many cafes and artisan shops. Children love the steam train ? the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway stops here (kwvr.co.uk, family day pass �35 for two adults and three children). LL
Skipton is best known as the Gateway to the Yorkshire Dales, but there are many walks on the doorstep ? radiating from the Canal Basin and Skipton Woods in the centre of town. A ride on the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway (embsayboltonabbeyrailway.org.uk, family pass �20 for two adults and two children) is a must for young families.
Anne Waddington, of The Tempest Arms, Elslack (01282 842450, tempestarms.co.uk)
The town of Grassington and the surrounding countryside is perhaps the most popular place to visit within the dales. There are miles of footpaths and tracks leading through the most captivating scenery. The main street is full of small, independent shops, selling food, crafts and gifts. AW
A top pub
The Tempest Arms (details as before) won Les Routiers Pub of the Year 2011. The Bull at Broughton (01756 792065, thebullatbroughton.com) is one of the Ribble Valley Inns co-owned by celebrity chef Nigel Haworth. LL
In Linton, between Skipton and Grassington, is the 17th-century Fountaine Inn (01756 752210, fountaineinnatlinton.co.uk). Set on the village green and boasting wood fires and cosy corners, this is great for walkers, with good pub grub. AW
A spot of culture
Skipton's Craven Museum & Gallery (cravenmuseum.org, free) is currently exhibiting a rare edition of Shakespeare's First Folio. At the top of the main street stands Skipton Castle (skiptoncastle.co.uk, adults �6.50, children �3.90) ? one of England's best- preserved medieval castles. AW
A meal out
Bizzie Lizzie's fish and chip shop (36 Swadford Street, bizzielizzies.co.uk) is a Skipton institution. Or take a tour of the Copper Dragon Brewery (01756 704560, copperdragon.uk.com) and have a pint with a meal at its bistro. AW
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/oct/14/ingthorpe-grange-yorkshire-review
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