You can look forward to a coffee shop/cafe, a garden and a bar at The Black Bull Hotel. Stay connected with free WiFi in public areas, and guests can find other amenities, such as a restaurant.
Kirkby Stephen is home to The Black Bull Hotel. Yorkshire Dales National Park and Smardale Gill National Nature Reserve reflect the area's natural beauty and area attractions include Stainmore Railway Company Ltd. and Eden Valley Railway. Appleby Leisure Centre and Kennedys Fine Chocolates are also worth visiting. Fishing offers a great chance to get out on the surrounding water, or you can seek out an adventure with horse riding, cycling and mountain biking nearby. Visit our Kirkby Stephen travel guide
At The Black Bull Hotel, you can look forward to a coffee shop/cafe, a garden and a bar. In addition to a restaurant, guests can connect to free WiFi in public areas.
You'll also enjoy the following perks during your stay:
Check-in start time: 2:00 PM; check-in end time: 11:00 PM
Minimum check-in age - 18
Check-out
Check-out before 11:00 AM
Special check-in instructions
There is no front desk at this property
The host will greet guests on arrival
Information provided by the property may be translated using automated translation tools
Access methods
Host will greet you
Pets
Pets are allowed for an extra charge of GBP 20 per pet, per day
Service animals are welcome, and are exempt from fees
Welcoming dogs only
Children and extra beds
Children are welcome
Rollaway/extra beds are not available.
Cots (infant beds) are not available
Payment types at the property
Important information
Optional extras
Pet fee: GBP 20 per pet, per day
Service animals are exempt from fees
The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
This property accepts credit/debit cards
We should mention
This property does not have any lifts
This property's policy is to refuse certain bookings for the purpose of group events or parties, including stag and hen parties
This property welcomes guests of all sexual orientations and gender identities (LGBTQ+ friendly)
Frequently asked questions
Is The Black Bull Hotel pet-friendly?
Yes, dogs are allowed at this property. There's a fee of GBP 20 per pet, per day. Service animals are exempt from fees.
How much does it cost to stay at The Black Bull Hotel?
As of 21 Sep 2026, prices found for a 1-night stay for 2 adults at The Black Bull Hotel on 27 Sep 2026 start from ฿3,213, excluding taxes and fees. This price is based on the lowest nightly price found in the last 24 hours for stays in the next 30 days. Prices are subject to change. Choose your dates for more accurate prices.
How much is parking at The Black Bull Hotel?
Self-parking is free at this property.
What time is check-in at The Black Bull Hotel?
Check-in start time: 2:00 PM; check-in end time: 11:00 PM.
What time is check-out at The Black Bull Hotel?
Checkout is at 11:00 AM.
Where is The Black Bull Hotel located?
Situated in Kirkby Stephen, this hotel is within 1 mi (2 km) of Eden Valley and Yorkshire Dales National Park. Lesley Rowe and Frank's Bridge are just steps away.
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Reviews
The Black Bull Hotel Reviews
7.8
Good
All reviews shown are from real guest experiences. Only travellers who have booked a stay with us can submit a review. We verify reviews according to our guidelines and publish all reviews, positive or negative.More informationOpens in a new window
Lovely hotel in the heart of Kirkby Stephen. No breakfast, but could be arranged albeit for an extra fee, and a bit too late for walkers. Comfortable bed and bedding. TV and wifi worked well.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2026
Verified review
6/10 Okay
Christopher
2 Jun 2026
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Traditional hotel in the centre of town. Large bedroom and en-suite bathroom, but both rather run-down and tired. Example: plenty of space in the bedroom but no chair to sit on. Potential for a “window seat“, but no cushion there. Staff were great, though.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2026
Verified review
6/10 Okay
Carol
4 Dec 2023
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Quite pricey for a small double room (bed up against the wall) with no breakfast, bed was comfortable room lovely and warm
Overnight stay, check in seamless comfortable room can’t comment on the breakfast as had to leave early
Can’t fault the staff and Full on Fran is a star 🌟 😁
This hotel was nice and clean with everything you could need for a night away. The only issue was that we were on the top room and the heating wasn’t working on our room. Once we came in the room was freezing this impacted my asthma the next day and we had to leave quickly in the morning. The room and service was great however.
Great stay for two night break on the coast to Coast trail. Staff was friendly and helpful. Friday nights are very loud with karaoke so be prepared! Food was good, but basic pub food. Breakfast had several choices and the avocado and poached egg was especially good. There's an awesome Indian restaurant called the mango tree just a few buildings down. Laundromat behind the Black Bull hotel which was very convenient. About 6 pounds to run the washer and one or two for the dryer. There's a tourist info place in the same area also and they have taxi information if you want to bypass the boggy part of the hike from Kirkby Steven to Keld. No buses on Sunday.
The member of staff checking us in was brusque and unwelcoming. The first thing she said was that there was no kitchen tonight.
She didn’t say sorry or advise other places locally. She practically threw the key at us and told us to fill in the breakfast order form as soon as possible as she wanted to finish her shift. Her attitude made us think we wouldn’t be having a drink there either so we went to the Pennine Inn a few doors down where they had polite staff and decent food.
The member of staff that provided breakfast was polite and pleasant.
Our room (1) on the top floor was next to the airing cupboard and boiler tank so was stifling hot all night.
We were the only guests staying there so have no idea why we were put in that room.
We only stayed one night as we were doing the C2C. Wouldn’t stay there again even if desperate.
I would advise the manager that it may be courteous to advise a potential guest in an email that the kitchen isn’t open when they are staying.
Stayed 1 night in May 2025
Verified review
4/10 Poor
Richard J
20 Aug 2023
Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Disappointing.
Check in was via the bar staff, and although there were only two of them, this was ok and we were taken to our rooms.
I was in Room 1. I was disappointed to find no light bulbs in the reading lights over the bed. In the bathroom, the towel rail was loose on the wall, and only just held by two screws. It had a rail missing as well. Also, there was no toilet roll holder.
In addition, for the double bed there was only one bedside table, but there would have been no room for one anyway.
The cooked breakfast was fine, but I had to ask for marmalade/ jam to go on toast. In general, breakfast service was poor. And to check out, we had to search the property for someone to hand over the keys to.
For the price I paid -£144 - I felt it was very bad value. The saving grace was the location, which was excellent.
The room wasn’t big or fancy, but we didn't need big or fancy.
We needed a good night's sleep and a welcome from a brilliant human.
We got both, and Fran was a multi-tasking, dart-offering smiley force of happiness, which I really neded.
We visited Kirkby Stephen for sad reasons, but we left with a smile.
Room was freezing with no heating, both radiators not working. No bedside table, kettle just on the floor. Bedside lamp not working. No lampshade just a solitary bulb. Single pane glass window which was broken. Wooden toilet seat was warped and dirty due to excessive moisture intake.
We were up for a wedding and The Black Bull Hotel was a convenient place to stay. The landlady was very friendly and bed comfortable. We were a bit chilly during an April cold snap and couldn't work out how to get the heating on. No breakfast at the moment but there are plenty of great cafes in Kirkby Stephen and we had a chance to explore the area before we left. Would defintley stay again.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2023
Verified review
6/10 Okay
Jason
31 Jul 2024
Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service
I wouldn’t stay again
It was ok but I wouldn’t stay again, I went down for food at 7pm and they stopped serving not sure why it wasn’t busy. In the morning I didn’t know where to go for breakfast and the second morning I came down at 7:45 no one there apart from me.
Impossible to contact from the time of our booking (Jan) until close to arrival
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2025
Verified review
6/10 Okay
Hollie
26 Jun 2023
Liked: Cleanliness
Lady that checked us in was friendly but I spoke to a man on the phone before arrival to query parking and how we could get the key if we are attending a wedding - he was miserable and complained about how annoying it is that people stay for weddings and are out all day (I queried if it’s so annoying why there hasn’t been a solution implemented).
The room was basic but it was comfortable and the location was lovely.
Average stay overall, would stay again if attending another wedding in the area but wouldn’t go out of my way to stay here.
Very tired, dirty floor and walls no staff to accommodate in the morning of checkout and only person that works in morning didn’t speak English so not helpful when needing to ask questions
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023
Verified review
6/10 Okay
Jayne
3 Oct 2022
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Nice welcome, no food available :(
The Black Bull is a lovely looking hotel. The bar looked fairly newly refurbished. The bedroom had been partially repainted, but there were bits missed, some peeling paint, and in the ensuite bathroom, some of the paper on the ceiling (approx 18") was peeling off too.
Most disappointing was the fact that when we arrived, we were told there was no chef so no evening meal or breakfast available .... if we'd known this beforehand, we probably wouldn't have made the booking :(
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022
Verified review
2/10 Terrible
Phil
1 Jun 2023
Disliked: Staff & service
We had to sleep in our car.
I couldn't answer many of the questions because, despite telling them we were going to arrive late and being told to call them so that they could tell us how to access the property, they failed to respond to multiple calls and an email. Consequently, we had to spend the night sleeping in our car! The fact that they were far more interested in getting our money than actually accommodating us is the thing that is so terrible.