The Old Mill

This was our first stay at the Old Mill, but we’ll be back. All six of us enjoyed the food and the general atmosphere, and the staff and service were excellent. It’s very good value for money. I’ve had bigger rooms elsewhere, but ours was very clean and had everything we needed. The location is a couple of miles from the A1, though there isn’t much around if you like a morning walk.

A cosy atmosphere and warm, friendly staff go with first-class gastro pub food here. The portions are generous and mouthwatering. Well worth a visit.

There’s plenty of parking at this charming old-world pub, just off the A1M near Bishop Auckland, and it has a good atmosphere. The food was average and prices a little above average. I’ll visit again.

We usually enjoy meals at the Old Mill, but this visit was a letdown. It was busy and they don’t take bookings for groups under eight, so we knew getting a table might be a matter of luck. Still, we didn’t expect to be put in a huge back room with stark lighting and the atmosphere of a school dining room. We were the only diners in there. We asked whether we could sit in the main restaurant and were first told yes, if we waited while a table was cleared. Then a different waitress, who had a rather nippy attitude, perhaps because she’d seated us in the back room, reluctantly offered to join three small tables instead. We were happy to move. The meal was fine, and the young waitress who served us was pleasant. But my husband came back from the gents horrified: apparently the urinal was swimming, and his shoes were soaked and smelly by the time he realised he’d walked in it. There was no warning sign. Not sure we’ll return.