I EMBARKED on something of a wild goose chase a few weeks ago and ended, by delightful accident, at a cracking pub I’d never before encountered.

It was a Monday evening and I had gone in search of a decent pub meal. Alas, what with it being a Bank Holiday, many chefs had taken the evening off and none of the pubs I’d earmarked was doing food.

I was getting increasingly hungry and desperate when, as a result of an accidental wrong-turn, I suddenly caught sight of the Black Bull in Escrick, just off the A19 between York and Selby. What fortune.

This is a charming place, in many ways epitomising what’s best about village pubs. There was an open fire and a friendly welcome, with a handful of villagers propping up the bar.

I was driving, so was denied the pleasure of either Black Sheep or Copper Dragon, the two highlights on the taps. Instead, I went for a surprisingly enjoyable bottle of Becks’ non-alcoholic lager and got down to the business of eating.

The food was home cooked and the menu impressive, with several vegetarian options on top of the range of pub classics.

I went for the quintessentially English offering of ham, eggs and chips, while my girlfriend had a spicy vegetarian burger and we both left well-fed and contented.

A few days later we were back on the road again, this time by bus.

The Village Inn, in Wilberfoss, had been recommended to me and I thought it was about time Pints of View explored a little bit of East Yorkshire.

Again, the pub was great, the staff friendly and the food enjoyable and I was pleased too to be able to once again enjoy a pint of the excellent, toffee-flavoured Everards Tiger (4.2 per cent).

The weather was also kind, allowing us to sit at one of the outside tables and I’d probably have still been raving about how good this place was, had we not suddenly found our visit cut short.

I’ve had a fair few lock-ins over the years, but this was my first lock-out.... Having polished off our sandwiches and drinks, we went to return to the bar, only to find the staff had locked up for the afternoon and evidently gone. Ah well. At least the tables were at the front of the pub, so we weren’t trapped for the afternoon!