Reading the Menu Like a Walker

A good rural pub menu is a map of the countryside around it. If you are in the Yorkshire Dales, you will see lamb and Wensleydale; in Cumbria, Cumberland sausage and sticky toffee pudding; in the North York Moors, game pies and root vegetables from the fields you have just walked through. The trick is to order the food that matches the day you have had — and the day you have still to come.

Before you even look at the specials board, ask yourself two questions: how far have I walked, and how far am I still going? A five-mile loop finishing at the pub door gives you permission to eat properly. A lunch stop halfway up a ten-mile route calls for something lighter, or you will spend the afternoon regretting the second helping of chips.

Pies: The Gold Standard of Post-Walk Fuel

If there is a pie on the menu, order the pie. It is the most honest thing a rural kitchen produces: slow-cooked meat or cheese, sturdy pastry, and vegetables that have not travelled far. Look for the wording that tells you it was made in-house — "our own" or "made here" — rather than something that arrived in a box.

• Steak and ale pie — the classic. Rich, dark gravy, generous filling, and pastry designed to soak up the last of it.
• Cheese and onion pie — often the meat-free star, especially with Lancashire or Wensleydale crumbled through it.
• Chicken, ham and leek pie — lighter than beef, still satisfying on a cold afternoon.
• Suet pastry pies — heavier and denser than shortcrust, and worth ordering if you have a long climb ahead rather than a short drive home.

Check what comes with it. A pie with chips, mushy peas and a jug of gravy is a full meal for a serious walker. If it arrives with new potatoes and seasonal greens, so much the better — you get the fuel without the stodge. If the chips are optional, consider ordering them as a side to share.

Soups, Broths and the Mid-Walk Lunch

Soup is the most underrated item on any pub menu, and it is what you want if you are only halfway round. A bowl of leek and potato, pea and ham, or a proper broth with barley and root vegetables is warming, quick to arrive, and unlikely to weigh you down on the next ascent.

Order it with a doorstep of granary bread rather than a white baguette — the denser loaf keeps you going longer — and ask whether the soup is made with stock or cream. A thin broth will sit easily for the remaining miles; a thick, cream-heavy chowder is a meal in itself.

Soups also tell you what the kitchen does well. A pub making its own soup is usually making its own pies too.

Roasts, Hotpots and Sunday Business

If you are lucky enough to finish a Sunday walk in a pub that serves a roast, build your day around it. Roast lamb with mint sauce, roast beef with Yorkshire puddings, or roast pork with apple sauce and crackling are exactly what a long, cold morning on the fells asks for.

Be practical about it, though. Sunday roasts are usually served only between noon and two or three, and they sell out — the beef goes first, the pork tends to last. Ring ahead if a group of you are walking in, and arrive early rather than late. Roasts are also enormous; if you have another few miles to cover, a smaller portion or a child's plate is a legitimate order for an adult who is about to climb a hill.

On other days, look to regional staples: Lancashire hotpot with a layer of potato on top, Cumberland sausage with mash and onion gravy, or a steak and kidney pudding. These are dishes built by people who worked outside, and they hold their heat and their goodness accordingly.

Puddings: Justified Indulgence

A pudding is not a weakness after a long walk; it is part of the refuelling. Sticky toffee pudding, syrup sponge with custard, or apple and blackberry crumble with a hint of the hedgerow about it will restore more than a second pint.

• Sticky toffee pudding — the northern benchmark, best when the sponge is dark and the sauce is not too sweet.
• Apple and blackberry crumble — a late-summer and autumn order, and proof the kitchen uses what grows nearby.
• Rice pudding or baked custard — gentler, cheaper, and perfect after a big roast.
• Cheese and biscuits — Wensleydale, Lancashire or a blue, with chutney. A respectable alternative if you would rather finish with something savoury.

If the pudding list mentions a specific local fruit or cheese, order it. That is the kitchen showing you the countryside you just walked through.

Ale, Timing and the Order of Things

One pint with a meal is a pleasure. Two before a three-mile finish along a country lane is a mistake. Stick to session beers in the 3.5 to 4 per cent range if you are walking on, and ask for a jug of water alongside — you have lost more fluid than you think, and a rehydrated walker makes better decisions on the last descent.

Order your main course as soon as you sit down, especially at peak times; rural kitchens are small and the pie takes twenty-five minutes. If you are on a timetable, say so — most pubs will happily serve you quickly if you tell them you have a bus or a train to catch. And if the menu says the food is local, seasonal and cooked to order, believe the last part: it will be worth the wait.