A PICTURESQUE pub set on land featuring England’s highest single drop waterfall is on the market in the Yorkshire Dales.
The majestic 13th century Green Dragon Inn comes with a hefty £1.5million price tag.
The pub, along with 5.5 hectares of parkland, a campsite, visitor centre and the Hardraw Force waterfall, were put up for sale by the site’s owner Mark Thompson.
Table dance - enthusiastic host and Kerryman Mark ThompsonMr Thompson is of Irish heritage and lived for a time in the 1990s in Killorglin in Co. Kerry, where he is still known.
His property’s incredible waterfall played host to a nude Kevin Costner in the 1991 blockbuster Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
The now famous scene saw the character of Maid Marian catching Robin bathing naked under the waters of Hardraw Force.
Mr Thompson made the purchase for £375,000 in 2001 and spent over a decade restoring the pub, fixing its leaky roof and renovating the interior space.
But he has now “reluctantly” decided to part with the site do to the ill health of himself and his partner, and hopes to make a huge profit of over £1 million.
Speaking to The Irish Post, Mr Thompson said that the Green Dragon Inn didn’t just need “any old buyer”.
“We’ve had quite a lot of interest, we’ve had nine people interested with two viewings and an offer last week. Sadly they wanted to knock down the price so it came to nothing.
“We’re still looking for that genius, that magician, that entrepreneur, that maverick needed to run this special, special place – and preferably an Irish person.
“We are the wrong side of 60 now, my partner has stage one leukaemia and I had a reasonably major heart attack 18 months ago, and we can’t really cope with overseeing everything anymore.
“I want to move back to Ireland but I’m not getting my hopes up until something firm comes in for this place over here.
“It’s sad to say goodbye but life rolls on, doesn’t it?”
The parkland accompanying the site is home to the Hardraw Brass Band Festival and Hardraw Folk Gathering – and can house up to 1,000 people in the summer.
“We can’t be rushing around like that for too much longer,” says Mr Thompson. “The place need someone new.”
