An excellent place to stay

Dee and Richard took over running the Battlesteads a few months ago and have already transformed the feel of the place!

We stayed over the August Bank holiday and our room was large and clean - the bathroom had Woods of Windsor toiletries and the all important white fluffy towels.

The quality of the food is excellent, with locally sourced ingredients (try the smoked fish and scrambled eggs for breakfast if you can resist the Full English!). The dinner menu is varied and extremely good value, served by very helpful staff. Afterwards, make your way through to the cosy bar for local beer and a good range of whiskies.

Overall a great experience: very friendly and welcoming with good value accommodation and excellent food. I wish them continued success!

Building something special

Great place to stay. Cosy bar and superb food. The en suite rooms are big, clean and well presented. The owners are really friendly and are developing something very special here. Plenty of good walking in the area - we were doing the Pennine Way. Packed lunch was huge and the breakfast the best we had anywhere on our 14 day adventure. Real attention to detail gives them that edge!

Great food, terrific hostess

We were a group of 9 cyclists touring northern england wanting to stay in a typical rural B&B in the area. Battlesteads met our needs perfectly. Set in a small village, it provided just the right atmosphere. We were greeted by the no nonsense friendly propriortress who learned all of our first names quickly and made us feel quite at home. Though not aware that we were arriving via bicycle, she found a room to store our bikes, showed us our rooms and met our needs as they arose and her time permitted. The food was fabulous, both dinner and breakfast, and the quantities more than sufficient for hungry cyclists. Though recently purchased by the new owners, they obviously know how to run a great restaurant and hotel.

A delightful surprise

Eight friends and I just spent two weeks cycling through England and Scotland. We tend to stay in small towns and villages for the scenery and to avoid the large cities. Wark was a good choice for us because of its' proximity to Hadrian's Wall. As we are in smaller places, we get to stay in small hotels and inns that do not cater to large tourist groups which is part of the fun. Our stay at the Battlesteads Hotel was a treat! They were very cyclist friendly. The staff was warm and accomadating, especially Dee the innkeeper who had a wonderful way with people and a great sense of humor. The food was incredible. Food is very important to cyclists - it's our fuel and we go through a lot of it, especially when cycling in hilly areas. The Battlesteads Hotel gets the Bicycle Touring Club of North Jersey's award for best food on that trip. Yum!

Warm and Friendly

First, let me say that I am an American who travels frequently in England and I've stayed at many hotels throughout the country. Based on past experiences with English B & B's, the Battlesteads hosts average to above average accomodations. To me, of course, the upper floor rooms seemed quite small but this is normal in England. However, I was able to get a lower level room that was newer construction designed for the disabled. The lower level rooms are quite large which made me feel right at home. I can't say enough good things about the owners who go out of their way to make your stay not only joyous but memorable. They like to be on a first name basis with all their guests and if there's anything you need either from the kitchen or the bar, all you need to do is ask. One morning they even prepared an American style breakfast for our crew. What a treat! Menu items for dinner were even better. The new owners are both chefs and boy can they prepare some wonderful dishes. The food at Battlesteads was simply amazing. The warm, friendly atmosphere, the superb dining, and the above average accomodations makes a stay at the Battlesteads a very enjoyable experience. The Battlesteads is certainly deserving of an Excellent rating.

Yam alrite

I was always of the opinion that the reputation the Geordies have for being among the friendliest people in England was an exaggerated view of foreign travellers, how wrong have I been. Not only did my stay at Battlesteads expose me to some of the friendliest people I have ever met, I met a very rare thing indeed... A Cockney who didn't fit into the TV stereotype.

The hotel was F.A.B., rooms were spot on. Food too die for. And the company was faultless. The countryside of Northumberland is without doubt the best in England.

Would I recommend this hotel for a short stay? Absolutely. For the hikers and hill walkers this is an ideal choice. The 'Guvnor' even offered to drive us to an outbound drop off so we could do some serious walking.

What an improvement

Been to this hotel previously and was very disappointed, the place WAS locked in the seventies and the ground floor accomodation looked rather institutionalised, the first floor rooms remined me of cheap seaside BnB's, I wouldn't dream of going there again.

However the hotel is under new ownership and so while in the area we decided to call in for a quick check and some refreshment while passing through. What a wonderful surprise we had.

Had a great visit, with a tour of the hotel. Now with well-appointed rooms, they are outstanding compared to what they were like before and even put other Northumbrian hotels of similar size to shame. The rooms are ensuite and very clean with excellent facilities. Cannot recommend this hotel highly enough.

Great short stay

I stayed at this hotel with my family for the weekend.

It is in a wonderful rural location, close to the River North Tyne, Hardians Wall and enjoyable walks.

Rooms are a good size, clean and very comfortable. (There are rooms on the ground floor for 'disabled' visitors as well, which was great for my elderly parents)

Food is excellent. A varied, value for money menu (try the Louisiana Chicken)and the hosts were happy to accommodate my youngest son who is a fussy eater.

Great beer, real open fire, large garden.

The Host turned the external lights off late in the evening so we could get a view of the night sky, it is so dark you could see everything clearly.

I would recommend a stay here to anyone

Real rural hotel

Stayed at this charming countryside hotel for two nights in a cold January, but what a warm welcome!

The building is an 18th century stone built farmhouse that has been converted into a 14 bedroom hotel and restaurant. Low ceilings, wood beams, lots of lovely woodwork and a real fire in the small but cosy bar.

The new owners have only been in for a few months - apparently they have a long established restaurant and pub on Tyneside - and they are making tasteful improvements. The menu offers an excellent choice of local fresh produce including Northumbrian Angus beef and lamb sourced from their own farm.

All meals we sampled were excellent value (average £9.50 for main course) and very well presented.

Wark is a small village to the north of Hadrian's Wall and the countryside is perfect for walks and exploring the wall.

Great atmosphere and friendly staff, plus some great local ales made this a stay to remember.

Fun for touring Vindolanda and The Wall

I told them I'd write here how much I enjoyed my too-brief stay at Battlesteads Hotel - in the tiny village of Wark, about 12 miles from most of Hadrian's Wall, but you might as well have Northumberland to yourself. A pub/restaurant/hotel, this local institution was friendly, helpful, and a very pleasant experience. So much for the North being dour! Not only did they give me a lift to Vindolanda and carefully explain how the Wall buses take you from one site to another - I had no car and managed perfectly well - but the food was fine, the room simple but clean and convenient, and I got a kick out of the sense that this was in no way a "tourist" hotel, but rather an old-fashioned inn. Don't come here if you want a swimming pool, nightclubs and gourmet restaurants - Wark is tiny, but quite beautiful, right on the Tyne and quite off the tourist trail. But you can get anywhere you want to from there. I'd happily stay again. The charges are modest, and you can google the hotel name and go straight to their web site. Enjoy!