16 September 2026

Beer and sandwiches: At Cross Keys Inn in Sedbergh

This column is our weekly pub review, written by pintsmen, women and children across the nation. Suggestions to letters@newstatesman.co.uk

By New Statesman

Illustration by Marta Signori

The Cross Keys Inn in Sedbergh, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, is an odd location for a column titled “Beer and Sandwiches” – because it doesn’t sell any alcohol. Located at the foot of the Lake District peaks’ gentler sibling, the Howgill Fells, the Cross Keys is a haven for hikers. (I am surprised they still allow entry to those not wearing Gore-Tex.) You can wander in straight off the side of the fell, having just got soaked clambering through the bracken up to Cautley Spout, England’s highest waterfall, and dry your wet socks in front of the wood-burning stove.

Soda water, anyone?

The pub has been a temperance inn since the early 1900s, after the then landlord drowned in the River Rawthey (which runs through Sedbergh) while trying to save a guest he had directed to the nearby village of Ravenstonedale. Traumatised by the accident, his successor removed the pub’s liquor licence. Nowadays thirsty ramblers are welcome to bring a bottle with them (the pub will provide you with glasses and there’s no charge for corkage).

The best of Yorkshire

What the Cross Keys lacks in traditional boozy pub vibes, it makes up for in dining. Its menu includes local staples like roast beef and Yorkshire puddings with two types of potatoes, Cumberland sausage and mash, and Wensleydale cheese tart. The inn started life as a farmhouse and retains all its trappings. It is a perfect cosy spot to put your feet up.

Cross Keys Temperance Inn, Cautley, Sedbergh, Cumbria