The Ancient Unicorn

A very nice place to stay and not that expensive for food and drinks. Very friendly helpful staff. Even better we were able to park on-site and outside of the room. We would definitely stay there again. It's not that far from Bowes castle not that much to see though, but worth a visit to the castle.

Booked a few hours in advanced as biking on the road. A friendly welcome, room spotless, views exceptional. Parking safe. Main meal hit the spot. All the staff exceptionally friendly. Great nights sleep. Breakfast was Wow amazing. Manager was so lovely, that she even offered a laundry service as she knew we was traveling on motorbike. The extra mile of customer service made it a place we would definitely go back to on our travels..

What a great old place. Carli is a super host and really went out of her way to help me. She gave me a lift to my train station the morning I left. The place is old, but well maintained, clean and everything works. Food is good pub standard with a decent beer selection.

Attentive, friendly and professional staff. Had dinner and breakfast which was really good. Room were spotless and beds comfortable. Good place to stay as you are within easy reach of some lovely locations. Enjoyed it so much we have booked again for New Year.

Lovely Sunday lunch. Friends commented on the very friendly, cheerful atmosphere- buzzing. Great improvement opening up the bar room

Booked for a one night stay to break our journey home. For all it's a nice enough place I wouldn't have booked it had I known the shared bathroom was not on the same floor. This should be highlighted in the room description so as we are made aware before considering booking. We had to go down 2 flights of stairs each time we needed to use the bathroom. Tolerable for one night but no more. The bedroom itself was clean and had everything we needed but was a bit on the small side. Not alot of room between the bed and the walls. The bed didn't provide the best night's sleep and the pillows were awful. We went for an evening meal which after reading some reviews weren't expecting anything exciting but to our surprise the food was very nice. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Breakfast however was a bit of a letdown. Priced at £13.50 I was expecting a larger breakfast. 1 sausage 1 bacon 1 egg 1 hash brown 1 black pudding a wedge of tomato and beans. Would expect at least 2 sausage and 2 bacon. Very disappointed. There was a good choice of cereals etc available although It proved difficult to see what was in the containers as they weren't labeled and the containers weren't of a clear see through type so opted for the pre packaged cereal. The bread was nice but the toaster was very slow. All in all with the room we had, like I say I could tolerate it for one night but any longer I would have to stay in another room with either ensuite facilities or bathroom on the same floor.

Fab stay in the Charles Dickens little cottage at The Ancient Unicorn. The accommodation was spotless and cosy and the bed very comfortable. We ate in the pub and the food was great - very big portions!! Karli was lovely, really helpful and chatty. Breakfast was again huge, set us up well for the day. Hughly recommend staying here, really convenient to explore the area.

A lovely accomadation just off the A66 near Barnard castle. Staff were very helpful and the room was great. Situated in a quiet area with a pub resturaunt on site. I would highly recommend this if you wish to tour around this area or in our case traveling from the east coast back to the M6!

Used the venue as a travel stop with the motorhome parked over night in the car park and had a cooked breakfast the following morning. It was five stars. Susan gave excellent service and fantastic freshly ground coffee, highly recommended.