If anyone needed persuading that Yorkshire is God's own county, they should take a drive through the lush, green countryside below Sutton Bank on a summer evening as the sun is setting.

The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful as my wife and I headed for Kilburn - a little village nestling below the escarpment's famous white horse - to celebrate our wedding anniversary with a meal at the Forresters Arms Hotel in the sloping village square.

I had been to the Forresters before (but only for a drink) after a Sunday afternoon walk around the horse and along Sutton Bank on a cold autumn day. I had found it a cosy, welcoming hostelry, open fire and all, and have hankered ever since to pay a return visit for a meal.

There was no need for a fire when we went last week, but the landlord made us feel welcome as we bought our drinks - a glass each of decent house red (I still had to drive home). We could eat in the bar or the restaurant, and opted for the latter. With only one other diner in the room, there had been no need to book a table, but this was quite late on a Tuesday evening and I imagine it's a very different story on a weekend.

We pondered the menu chalked up on a board, and struggled to choose between a fair variety of intriguing dishes, including some enticing veggie options.

For starters, I was torn between goats' cheese crostini with salad, and garlic mushrooms, while my wife struggled to decide between garlic mushrooms and the goats' cheese crostini. Our solution: an agreement to order one helping of each, and then swap plates half way through if we wanted. Both dishes cost £3.50.

The cheese was delicious, and the salad infinitely better than the limp lettuce and slice of tomato you sometimes get served up in pub meals: there were crisp green leaves, slices of pepper, tomato, mushroom, and even raspberries and strawberries to give a sharp fruity contrast.

The mushrooms were in a tasty sauce, garlic-flavoured but not overwhelmingly so, again served with a good salad. Both were remarkably filling dishes and I began to wonder if I would manage my main course.

I had gone meaty, ordering Andalusian chicken, cooked in sherry, tomatoes, tarragon, garlic and cream, and served up with a huge bowl of new potatoes and cauliflower, costing £8.25. I always like sampling something I have never eaten before; this dish was certainly a first for me, and it tasted great.

My wife stayed with a vegetarian option, choosing veggie melt for just £3.25. This mixture of tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers and onions, topped with mozzarella cheese and served on ciabatta bread, looked appetising but tasted slightly blander than she had anticipated.

We had arrived feeling hungry, but perhaps we should have worked up even more of an appetite with a brisk walk up the white horse before visiting the pub. We simply couldn't finish our dishes, but truthfully assured the waiter it was no reflection on his food.

We couldn't even contemplate some of the puddings, such as the maple and pecan tart and luxury chocolate cake, but somehow managed to find room for fresh strawberries and raspberries. Plenty of them, served with fresh cream.

The whole three-course meal, including drinks, came to just £30.35, which I reckoned was good value ... particularly as the scenery came free.

The Forresters Arms, Kilburn. Telephone: 01347 868386.