The Black Bull Shortlist*
Sedbergh, Cumbria
Good Hotel Guide Review
On the High Street of a small, book-loving town at the foot of the Howgill fells, this 17th-century inn has been sympathetically updated by chef/patron Nina Matsunaga and her husband, James Ratcliffe, a Dales native. Pots of moss and fern bring the outdoors in to the modern bar and restaurant; at mealtimes, local produce is transformed by Nina’s innovative Japanese-inspired cooking: wild halibut, haddock, shiso, apple, perhaps, or Lune valley pork belly, fermented rhubarb. A list of biodynamic wines and local craft beers accompanies. Upstairs, serene, clean-lined bedrooms have locally made wool blankets and photographs of the surrounding landscape; sleek bathrooms are stocked with essential-oil toiletries.
Hotel details
Address
44 Main Street
Sedbergh
Cumbria
LA10 5BL
England
Telephone
015396 20264
Bedrooms
18.
Open
all week May–Oct, 5 days a week Nov–Apr, restaurant open Wed–Sun all year round.
Facilities
bar, restaurant, in-room TV, 1-acre garden, bar and restaurant wheelchair accessible.
Background music
in public rooms.
Children
all ages welcomed.
Dogs
allowed in 3 bedrooms, bar, not in restaurant.
Credit cards
Amex, MC, Visa.
Prices
per room B&B single £112.50–£172, double £125–£205. À la carte £34. 2-night min. stay at weekends in high season.
Information from the 2022 Good Hotel Guide.