The Tan Hill Inn is a historic 17th-century pub and hotel located 1,732ft above sea level in the Yorkshire Dales – it costs the landlord £100,000 a year just to keep the lights on
Bar staff at the highest pub in Britain have told how life in the famous boozer is ‘like going back back in time’.
The Tan Hill Inn in Richmond, North Yorkshire is completely self-sufficient, with no cables or pipes connecting it to the grid. It means keeping the beer flowing and the punters happy takes plenty of hard work, and the landlord, Andrew Hields, 40, has revealed that it costs a staggering £100,000 a year “just to keep the lights on”.
Nestled within the scenic Yorkshire Dales, the historic 17th-century pub and hotel sits 1,732ft above sea level, while the nearest town, Kirkby Stephen, is 11 miles away and can only be reached via winding, single-track roads across the moors.
Its location leaves it very exposed to the elements, and The Tan Hill Inn made headlines around the world earlier this year when 23 pub-goers – including a four-year-old child – were stranded inside for five days after the pub was snowed in.
It followed another well-publicised incident back in 2021, when 60 people found themselves trapped inside amid huge snow drifts. Father-of-two Andrew has been the owner of the isolated spot for over seven years since June 2018, and said taking it on was an irresistible challenge that tested all his business skills.
Andrew has been involved in various businesses ranging from renewable energy to marketing, though had never taken charge at a pub before The Tan Hill Inn. Since becoming landlord, he’s also taken the reins at The Green Dragon Inn 12 miles down the road in Hardraw, famous for having Britain’s highest waterfall.
Andrew told Yorkshire Live. “This place pulled on all of my past experiences and skill sets and required me to learn fast as well. The challenging issues of staffing up here, the logistics of it all. It’s £100,000 a year now to keep the lights on. That would cripple most other pubs but luckily a thousand people a week are coming through the doors which helps.”
The establishment boasts six staff bedrooms alongside 11 guest rooms, and most employees stay over for three or four nights weekly. For those without transport, car-sharing arrangements or pub-provided lifts are available, with plans underway for a dedicated bus service.
This live-in arrangement has developed gradually, moving away from full-time residency. Andrew has discovered the part-time setup to be “more sustainable” given how “always intense, and very busy” the operation is.
Across both his establishments, staffing levels can reach approximately 50 during peak season , and 26-year-old manager El Applegarth, said the team feels like one big “family”.
El travels from Newcastle, splitting her time between Tan Hill and the Green Dragon while working away, and said of life in the pub: “It’s a bit like a uni house, sometimes. I’d never been to uni but it’s that kind of experience.
“We’ll have a drink on a night-time, and you will get up in the morning, chat, and get to know each other as friends. It does get on top of each other, sometimes, but not as much as what you would think.”
Her dad John introduced her to the pub before she started working there two years ago, and more recently’s brought her mum Alex into the team. John has been donning a Father Christmas outfit for festive events at the pub, with her younger sister also chipping in with odd jobs.
Describing the pub’s atmosphere, El said: “It’s magical, really. It really is. People talk. It’s a bit like going back in time. People actually talk to each other as they know they’re going to be stuck together. It’s not like there’s a few pubs around where you’ll go ‘I’ll see you at the next one’. It brings a lot of people together.”
Behind the scenes, Andrew described running such a remote establishment as a uniquely “tough business”. He advised: “Market. Market heavily and well. I say that especially as we’ve got no footfall. We’re not in a city, we’re not near another tourist attraction.
“You have to treat the customer and the staff well, and never take advantage of a customer, at all. Try and give the best experience that represents your kind of offering that you want people to experience. Don’t try to be anybody else.
“Every pub has got its own quirk, which is usually represented by the owners, as well. We try to amplify what the Tan Hill is when you come here, whether it’s the weather or the atmosphere inside or whatever’s going on outside. It’s got to be a labour of love because they’re tough businesses to run, especially nowadays. It’s a three, six, five job, there’s not much down time. We’ve got an amazing team, here. It’s run on passion, that’s the fuel.”
