A PUB near York has been named the best place to stay in the north by a national newspaper.

The Alice Hawthorn at Nun Monkton, an idyllic village just off the A59 York-Harrogate road, has made it into the Sunday Times list of the 100 Best Places to Stay 2021 across the country.

The guide is split into eight regions and the pub wins the North region's award.

Lisa Grainger, deputy editor and travel editor for the paper's magazine, said the pub offered guests four rooms above the pub and eight in industrial-style, wood-lined farm buildings.

“The food is the star at this fabulous 18th-century pub with Scandi-style rooms," she said.

"Since Richard Harpin, the millionaire co-founder of HomeServe plumbing, bought it he has transformed the historic drinking hole (named after a prize-winning racehorse) into Yorkshire’s version of the Wild Rabbit: a smart, polished gastropub with food as assured as its Oka-inspired interiors.”

A spokeswoman for the pub said it was named after a famous racehorse that galloped to glory by winning the Ascot Gold Vase, the Goodwood Cup and the Doncaster Cup in 1844.

She said it re-opened its doors for overnight stays in May, with some 'exciting additions,' and was run by Claire and John Topham.

"The previous apartment above the Grade II listed pub has been sensitively reconfigured and renovated into four rooms, and eight new rooms have been added in the grounds, bringing the total count to 12," she said.

"The new accommodation has been built in the pub’s garden, in keeping with the rural surroundings.

"Constructed from home grown Douglas fir and finished inside and out with timber, three contemporary structures have been designed to mirror a group of agricultural buildings.

"One is a stable style, the other built to resemble a field barn and the third an agricultural store. All bedrooms feature Super King beds with crisp white sheets, freestanding bathtubs or walk-in rainfall showers, and are ideal to relax in after a day exploring this beautiful area."

She said he Alice had entries in both The Good Food Guide and Michelin Guide, attracting a loyal following from visitors from both near and far.

"Headed up by John Topham and his team, the kitchen serves delicious and imaginative dishes with a strong Yorkshire influence, using local and seasonal produce, including fish from the East coast and game from nearby shoots," she said.

"The Alice’s garden has been newly landscaped, planted with perennials and roses, and equipped with a wood-fired oven."

She said that with a duck pond, one of the last working greens in Yorkshire and the tallest maypole in England, Nun Monkton was a charming and peaceful village.

The new guide, which appears as a supplement to the Sunday Times this weekend, is said to 'focus on the things that really matter; hotels with the essentials of comfort, great service and value, as well as personality and warmth.'

For the guide, go to https://www.thetimes.co.uk/best-places-to-stay.