The Elk's Head

Philip and Alison Johnston wish you a very warm welcome to the Elk’s Head.

We are situated on the banks of the West Allen River, just outside the picturesque village of Whitfield, in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty: indeed the A686, the road that will bring you to us, has been named by the AA magazine as one of the ten most scenic drives in Europe.

Here, we are in the middle of nowhere and yet also right at the centre of things.

If you want a base to “get away from it all” with peace and quiet, natural beauty and tranquillity we have them all in spades. The Whitfield Estate which owns and runs the pub, is well known for its natural beauty, its trees and its wildlife. But if, after a day or two of doing nothing, you start to get itchy feet, our central location, right in the middle of the country, means that we are an ideal base for exploring the region. Around an hours drive to the west will take you to the Lake District, to the south to Durham, to the east to Alnwick Gardens or Gateshead’s Metro Centre, whilst the Scottish Border is only an hour to the north.

We have very recently extended the pub into an adjacent cottage and now offer a total of ten bedrooms. The rooms are designed to be cosy, comfortable and attractive and all have sparkling brand new en-suite facilities. Some have lovely riverside and bridge views.

Meals are served either in the bar area or in one of our two dining rooms.

The kitchen is overseen by Philip Johnston and we pride ourselves on our excellent food. The menu changes regularly but will always contain some old favourites along with some tempting new ideas for you to try.

Most of our meat is sourced locally and we serve Whitfield Estate game – otherwise more usually found in some of London’s finest restaurants!

We also offer a wide selection of good quality wines.