“WE LOVE to see people relaxing and having a good time - you can almost see the stress leaving them.”

Andy Goodall and his wife Andrea pride themselves on running a welcoming, friendly pub, where guests can enjoy a pint or a meal and unwind.

The couple are at the helm of The Woolly Sheep in Skipton - the T&A Pub of the Week - where locals eat and drink alongside tourists visiting the Yorkshire Dales.

It’s a popular spot for staycations - the inn has 12 stylish, contemporary en-suite letting bedrooms. And the business community have also discovered its charms.

“We get a lot of tourists coming all year round for the markets, or just a nice get away, and corporate clients who regularly stay with us,” said Andy.

The characterful Sheep Street pub, which dates back 300 years, sits on the site of a former manor house and later brick factory.

It is said that the death of a governess at the manor, and the sad loss of a young girl in a fire which destroyed the factory, left their mark.

“The governess is said to walk across the cellar floor. She walks on the original floor so you can’t see her feet,” said Andy. “I don’t believe in ghosts but my best friend saw her and came up from the cellar as white as a sheet.”

The child is said to haunt one of the inn’s bedrooms.

Andy and Andrea, who is originally from Hungary, have been at the helm of the Timothy Taylor’s pub for more than 12 years, and also worked there for four years in 2001. They have the pub to thank for them meeting.

“Andrea, was working in Skipton and my boss hired her to work at The Woolly Sheep. We’ve now been married for eight years,” said Andy.

The pair bring different skills to the business. “I’m manager and work in the kitchen too - I’m a trained chef - while Andrea is more focused on customer service and looking after the team.”

Well-known for good food, the menu - which Andy describes as “classic pub food with a gastro twist” - includes homemade steak and ale pie. “It’s a fantastic pie made with Timothy Taylor’s ale. Our chefs do a brilliant job.”

Other culinary treats created by the team, led by chef Matthew Heaton, are Timothy Taylor’s beer-battered haddock and chips. “We also serve a slow-braised feather blade of beef with ale gravy and oven-baked salmon with spiced potato cake.” Veggie burgers are also a hit.

“Our dishes are so popular we that in 2015 we had to build a bigger kitchen,” said Andy.

The pub has been “busier than ever, although recent announcements have seen a drop in bookings,” he added. “Timothy Taylor’s has been absolutely great during the lockdowns. Customers feel really safe with all the measures we have put in place.”

And what of the pub’s name? Skipton’s connections with sheep go way back - the name is derived from the Anglo Saxon words ‘sceap’ (sheep) and ‘tun’ (town).

Skipton continues to celebrate its sheep connections - there is a busy auction mart where farmers still come from miles around to buy and sell sheep. Each year in the summer a fascinating ‘Sheep Day’ is held to celebrate the town’s heritage. Last year’s was cancelled but hopefully it will return this year.

*The Woolly Sheep, 38 Sheep Street, Skipton BD23 1HY; woollysheepinn.co.uk