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A brisk walk in the fresh air, the aroma of woodsmoke, a country pub and a lunchtime appointment with Booze.
Could there possibly be anything more attractive on a winter's day? Booze is a hamlet in Arkengarthdale, which forms the northernmost ribbon of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, 10 miles south of Barnard Castle. At 1,100ft above sea level, it has stunning views, consummate solitude and is pock-marked with history. It's a terrific rambling destination ( a Booze encounter is enough to set heart racing and lungs bursting while thighs ache at its very mention. But what Booze doesn't have is a pub.
Booze is Old English for "bowehouse", the house by the curve. It was once a thriving lead-mining community and important contributor to the Industrial Revolution before cheap imports forced its abandonment, save for a row of homes and several farms. Today, the only sounds are from bleating sheep, a distant dog and disturbed pheasants.
Thankfully, the Red Lion Inn, just down the fell at Langthwaite, caters for the Booze-induced thirst, but to appreciate a pint's full attributes, we recommend first drinking in the view of high pastures, low fields, dry-stone dyke mosaics and the clutches of settlements that pattern every dale.
In the 19th Century, Langthwaite...