For the past 11 years my wife and myself have spent Christmas away from home, 7 of those years at one establishment. We thought for Christms 2005 we would have a change and searched the internet for something suitable. I found the web page for The Plough at Wiiglesworth. Christmas breaks were advertised and details were sent for. These arrived by return and confirmed that was what we looking for. I was therefore disappointed on researching further that someone who had stayed there in August had given the place a real slating, nothing apart from the food, seemed to have satisfied him and his girlfriend. This put us in a quandary and we thought there was only one thing to do but to visit The Plough and see for ourselved, so on a trip to Hawes we did a detour and called on one miserable, wet October day. We walked in the bar and were greeted by Sue (a photo of Sue and Steve was on the web page) who immediately made us welcome despite the fact that we said we only wanted a snack. The food arrived without delay and was good, I did not say delicious because I dont think blackpudding anywhere could be described as such but they tasty. By the time we had eaten Steve had appeared on the scene and we settled our bill with him. I then asked him about the Christmas breaks and could we see the bedrooms. Without hesitation he took a bunch of keys and invited us to follow him. He showed us four or five rooms and we could find no fault with them. I asked him had he seen the review which had so heavily critised his establishment to which he replied no,he had not. I gave him the gist of the criticism and he answered, very satisfactorily, every point that I put to him with the result that we asked could we book for Christmas. Sue was called over and very efficiently took our details and explained details of payment etc. During the next few weeks we were very apprehensive and wondered whether we had done the right thing in booking and paying in advance. We arrived on Friday 23rd. December and this was the start of a very enjoyable Christmas Break and any apprehension we had was dispelled on that first day. The food throughout the four days we were there was excellent. Steve did not cower behind the bar at any time we were there and the accusation that Sue had an "overbearing" manner in the restaurant was laughable. Everything was carried out in a professional and efficient manner and both Sue and Steve ought to be congratulated on how things were done. Referring back to the reveiw by the person who had stayed in August I can only think that he had some sort of grudge and he had to find something to criticise. My wife and myself hope to return next Christmas to enjoy the excellent hospitality that we experienced on this visit.

I am writing this following a recent stay at the Plough Inn at Wigglesworth. My girlfriend and I made the mistake of booking there at short notice over the recent August Bank Holiday weekend.

After struggling to get in anywhere else, we finally got in at the Plough (which should have started the alarm bells ringing then).

During booking, I was told that the rate would be £54 per night per person, which I thought was steep but the website sounded tempting and we though we were in for something special. I was also grilled about what time I would arrive. It was either before 3pm or after 6pm. Odd, but we agreed after 6. The reason for asking would become apparent later......

We arrived, and were surprised by how run down the whole establishment was. Our room had a late 70's decor, and an en suite that has a very dim light, a ghastly pink bathroom suite and a very tired and manky looking lino.

The room was also a family room, on the ground floor. Unfortunately, there were a few tables and a car park directly outside the window, and we were treated to the sound of unruly customers in the afternoon, and then kept awake by the comings and goings of the cars leaving and arriving at the pub.

Being in the middle of nowhere, we decided to eat in the restaurant. Now this was good - the food excellent - but the landlady’s overbearing manner ruined the evening for us. Her poor husband cowered behind the bar while she patrolled the restaurant itself.

Breakfast was good too, but the fun began the second day. We went walking in the area and got caught in the rain. We returned to the pub at around 4.10pm , and couldn't get in. The whole place was locked up, and the only key we had was a Yale type key for the room. The door at the back that served as the guest entrance was fitted with a "normal" key.

So we went off to a nearby pub in Settle and spent a couple of hours there.

That explained why we had to arrive either side of 3 and 6pm.

I was truly fuming. When we got into the room, I checked to see if there was anything to inform us of the "lockout". There was no information in the room, save for an invitation to join the Plough Inn VIP club and details of nearby attractions.

There was no information of breakfast times, "rules" of the pub and, more importantly, no details of what to do in case of fire.

As everywhere else was full, we decided to ride out the stay, pay up, but not spend a further penny in the grim establishment. I normally complain readily when presented with shoddy goods and services, but decided I would be wasting my time against the hard faced landlady.

When leaving, we were charged again for the meal that we took on Saturday night - even though we'd paid for it at the time. This was taken off the bill but without an apology. There was no "enjoy your stay?" from the host or anything to make you feel welcomed.

I realised that even at the exorbitant rate charged, we'd been overcharged by £16 pounds. I emailed the pub, and was told of a small clause hidden at the bottom of the website tariff, detailing a surcharge at Bank Holiday weekends. I had in fact, been overcharged by £4.00.

Determined not to let the Plough Inn have a penny more from me, I asked (and actually got) a cheque back for four pounds.

In short, the pub was outrageously over priced for what was under average accommodation. Being locked out was disgraceful, and the lack of details regarding fire evacuation was worrying.

Please do not recommend this dreadful establishment on your site.

If you are travelling from the South to Scotland, you could do far far worse than get off the beaten track and stay at The Plough Inn. This little village, more like a hamlet consists of a few houses, a post office which is also the village shop and garage.

This inn was a gem of a discovery for us on our trip, the food is unbelievable, one of the best steaks I have had for a long time, would suit a stop over or a good base for getting around the area.

It is even supposed to be haunted, and has had numerous visits from certain groups to investigate this, in fact it is planning to run some investigations were guests can participate.


ploughinn

See the above link for all the details of this Inn, menus and photos, a superb place for a stop off or a tour of area, I dont think you will be disappointed.