A Reel Treat

Fancy catching your own lunch? Wharfedale’s the place to catch and cook, as Claudia Robinson discovers

- Claudia Robinson

Ponder this. Try your hand at fishing, ideally catching your own lunch, then hand it over to an award-winning chef at an idyllic hotel in the heart of North Yorkshire’s beautiful countryside. Fishing on another level.

I did, briefly, think how ironic it was that for most of my teenage years, and well into my twenties, I was vegetarian, but only briefly, because the lunch we would be catching is one of my favourite fish, trout.

Our destination was The Tennants Arms is situated in the pretty hamlet of Kilnsey, just over ten miles north of Skipton. Built in the 17th century as a coaching inn for travellers passing through Wharfedale, it’s popular with tourists, walkers and locals.

The hotel sits just next to Kilnsey Crag which means you can enjoy a drink in the beer garden and watch, in awe, as professional climbers scale the rocky landmark and tackle its challenging overhang. This is exactly what I did (watch, not climb), chatting with the hotel’s new general manager, Liz Smailes who is one of those at the helm of recent changes.

The hotel was taken over late last year by Tom GarlandJones, who, at only 25, has an impressive CV. Not only is he owner but he also executive chef, bringing with him a wealth of experience cooking in top restaurants in the UK, and abroad, some of them holding Michelin stars.