Now the hard part is over and you have found us, it's time to relax! We hope that you will enjoy your stay in our 13th century, Grade II listed, Dartmoor Inn.
This information page has lots of interesting reads and important information to help make your stay a little more enjoyable.
We have tried to include all of the most useful and interesting things that we can to make your stay comfortable and enjoyable, however we know nothing beats local knowledge and should you need anything at all, please feel free to pop down to our bar and ask one of our team members.
Warmest Regards,
Julian & Lisa
In case of an emergency
FIRE
Bearslake Inn is protected by a fire alarm system. Should you hear the alarm, please leave the building IMMEDIATELY.
Please do not stop to collect personal belongings as this may endanger yourselves and others around you. Fire assembly points can be found at the top of the garden and by the front gate to the car park. Please assemble at your nearest location and await further instruction. You should not re-enter the building until told it is safe by the fire officer in charge.
If you discover a fire during your stay at Bearslake Inn please alert us and fellow guests by pressing your nearest emergency fire alarm.
To help us keep the risk of fire to a minimum we ask that you do not smoke within the rooms, building, patio or gardens and use the dedicated outside space only, which is located at the front of the pub to the right of the front door. Please do not connect any untested electrical devices into our sockets and to avoid any false alarms please do not Vape or use electronic cigarettes in your rooms either (false alarms may result in additional charges to your room account in accordance with our booking terms and conditions).
Emergency contact numbers
Direct line to owners: 07917270178 (emergency use only)
Doctor
NHS non-emergency 111
Okehampton Medical centre 01837 52233
Okehampton Community Hospital 01837 658000
Dentist
MyDentist, Okehampton 01837 52745
Vet
Okeford Veterinary Centre, Okehampton 01837 52148
Telephone
Your room is equipped with a landline telephone for your use. Calls to rooms and to service points within the Inn are free of charge but calls to external numbers (landline and mobile) will be charged at BT’s standard call charge plus a 10% administration fee +VAT at the current rate.
Bar and reception numbers are dialled by using the pre-set labelled buttons, on your room phone. Please note there is a Night Emergency button on your telephone. (to avoid additional charges to your room account; the night emergency button should be only used in dire emergencies and not for routine service calls)
To call other rooms within the Inn please follow our user guide below.
Additional Information
If you should need any fresh milk during your stay please call down to the bar during the pubs opening hours and a member of our team will bring you some whole milk, soya or oat milk.
If you are wishing to dine with us at all during your stay it is highly advisable to book a table. This can be done in person or by calling down to our bar during our opening times. If you have any specific dietary requirements or wishes please let our team know and we will do our best to accommodate these where we can.
We are a cashless venue and only take card payments, so please leave your cash at home.
Breakfast
At Bearslake Inn we pride ourselves on our breakfasts. We offer a unique, luxury hamper full of bespoke, sweet and savoury goodies every morning (hot options available Fri, Sat and Sun) or if you would prefer something lighter we can also offer our 'Grab and Go breakfast (hot drink of choice and croissant)
With no two Dartmoor days being the same we also like our hampers to mimic this. We ask that guests choose from our carefully selected options and create your own hamper that will be delivered directly to your room in the morning. In order that our chefs can prepare this for you we ask that all your choices be notified down to the bar before 7pm the evening before. Hampers will be delivered between 8.30am and 9.00am to rooms, although should you prefer a later breakfast then you can arrange to collect your hamper from the bar at a time of your choosing between 8.30am and 9.30am at no additional cost.
If you have not chosen a hamper package as part of your stay then why not ring down and ask to add one to your room?
WiFi & TV
At Bearslake we offer free WiFi to all our guests. Please use your device to search for ‘Bearslake Guest’ and sign in by accepting the terms and conditions. This will give you free WiFi for the duration of your stay. Although please bear in mind that living in a remote part of Devon and staying in a Grade II listed building may have some limitations on WiFi and mobile reception. Should this occur we may be able to help you at the bar.
All of our rooms are equipped with digital TV’s. To turn these on please use the remote located in the rooms by the television set. Please endeavour to return the remote control to the same place upon your departure and if you should not be able to find the remote or operate your TV for any reason please speak to a member of our team who will assist you where they can.
Four Paws
Dogs on holiday
We are only to happy to have your four pawed companions staying with us at Bearslake Inn. We have four dedicated Dog friendly rooms and many of our public areas are dog friendly too.
We do however ask that:
- All dogs are kept under control at all times
- Dogs do not foul on the grass or in public areas (there is a dog waste bin at the end of the garden alongside the stream).
- Dogs do not get onto the furniture or bedding
- Any damage caused by your dog is noted to a member of staff immediately and that any cleaning or repair charges are paid for in full before departure
Dogs on Dartmoor
With 365 square miles of moorland within the Dartmoor National Park it is no wonder that dogs and their owners alike flock to this corner of Devon on holiday.
Whether it be a day exploring ancient woodlands or following bridleways and walking paths there are no shortage of doggy fun days to be had. Many of the café’s, pubs and restaurants on the moors are only too happy to welcome dogs and most are no stranger to muddy paws and boots.
However we do ask that whilst dog owners are enjoying the moors that they adhere to the code of conducts set out by the National Park:
- Always control your dogs and keep them on a lead when around wildlife and moorland grazing animals(ponies, sheep and cattle)
- During the lambing and bird breeding seasons please keep dogs on a short lead (1st March – 31st July)
- Beware that if your dog is off the lead and harassing livestock, farmers have the right to shoot your dog to protect their livelihood (many do enforce this too!)
- Please clear up after your dog and always remove and dispose of poo bags in dedicated bins or by taking it off of the national park grounds.
Checking out
On your day of departure please be aware that checking out time is by 10am prompt unless otherwise agreed with the owners or general manger. Checking out past this time may result in additional charges to the room.
A trip back in time?
Bearslake Inn is a historic 13th century building packed full of local history. The oldest part of the Inn is the bar and the first room to the left when you enter through the front door and was originally a Devon Longhouse. The longhouse is a dual purpose building providing both human and animal shelter under one roof. What is now the bar would have once been the Shippen (animal accommodation). The entrance hall is part of the original Cross Passage comprising a front and back door, separating the human accommodation which would have been to the left of the main door and is now the first of our cosy bar rooms.
The first longhouse would not have had chimneys or any first floor accommodation. The fire would have been in the main room with the smoke going straight up into the thatch. The original building was extended in the 16th and 17th centuries. At which time the chimneys, the parlor wing and first floor accommodation were added.
Many people ask us where the name Bearslake comes from; this is as much of the story as we have been able to piece together so far...
Bear or be-re comes from the old Devon word meaning wooded place. Lake is the hamlet where the farm is located; so the original name may have meant the wooded place in Lake. Why Lake? One theory dates back to the Civil war. The two nearby villages of Sourton and Bridestowe were divided one supporting the Royalists and the other the Parliamentarians. The story goes that there was a big battle between then two villages resulting in so many deaths that the area was a lake of blood. There is certainly no evidence of any other form of lake ever having been here.
Bearslake is now a Grade II listed building and as such we are striving to protect the authenticity of the original features. So although there is Free Wifi throughout the pub please bear in mind that cob and granite walls make for patchy signal at times.
Licensee Roll of Honour:
1956 - 1974 Joe Sweet
1974 - 1980ish Morag Haine
1980 - 1988 Mike Power
1988 - 1995 Ray Taylor
1995 - 2000 John & Yvonne Streeter
2000 - 2004 Phil & Sue Acton
2004 - 2018 Simon & Christine Cross
2018 - Julian Tarrant-Boyce & Lisa Jenkins