Have you heard the story about the pub with the fire that never goes out? MIKE LAYCOCK takes his family on an expedition to a legendary North Yorkshire pub.

It's legendary. It must be. The sign outside says so. "The Legendary Saltersgate Inn," it proclaims. But why? Do Mr Ronay and the Michelin man rate the food that highly?

Having driven past this pub dozens of times while crossing the North York Moors on my way to Whitby, I have always been bugged by the boast.

With the arrival of some glorious spring weather, I decided to take my family there to find out - but not until we had first worked up an appetite.

We parked up in Levisham, and then went on a wonderful three-mile walk, taking us across moorland and then up through the Hole of Horcum, a spectacular hollow basin carved out by an Ice Age glacier. Then there was just a short and not so pleasant walk along the side of the busy A169 down to the pub.

Inside, a fire was burning, even though it was very warm for the time of year. That, I quickly learnt from the barmaid and other customers, was what made the inn a legend in its own lunchtime. No one must ever let the fire go out. Not even during a blazing heatwave. According to the legend, a retired sea captain who ran the pub in the 18th century allowed it to be used to auction off smuggled goods.

After an unsuccessful raid by Excise Officers, one stayed behind and then caught the renegades red-handed with their booty. But one of the smugglers then smashed him on the head with a stool, killing him. The panicking landlord decided to bury the body under the fireplace, believing the authorities would never look there, particularly if a fire was burning. And so he decided it must never be allowed to go out.

It's a good story, but it was too warm on this sunny afternoon to huddle round the fire, and children weren't allowed in the main bar, so we went into the beer garden.

The garden was nothing special but had a unique view of RAF Fylingdales' distinctive pyramid in the distance.

The menu and the extra items on the bar blackboard revealed that much of the food was home-made, and two of us started with a bowl of broth and a roll for £2.75 that certainly hadn't come out of a tin. It was packed full of flavour and various vegetables.

For our main course, I was tempted by a good choice of vegetarian dishes, and almost opted for the delicious sounding apple and stilton lasagne.

The pub also makes great play of its Whitby scampi, but I'm not a fan of this particular fruit of the sea, and eventually opted for home-cooked steak and potato pie, served with chips and peas, for £5.95. It was wholesome and plentiful, with crisp pastry and good lean pieces of meat, and with a tasty gravy.

My wife asked for chilli con carne and chips, again for £5.95, and found it tasty and filling, while my son said his beef lasagne for £6.25 was "really nice." Even my daughter liked her chicken nuggets (presumably not home-made), accompanied by chips and beans, for £3.75.

Only I had enough room left for pudding. I asked for a crumble but it had sold out, and so I opted for home-made apple pie and ice cream for £2.75. It was perfectly acceptable, while a little too sweet for my taste.

We left the pub well stoked up for our return walk to Levisham, and to be honest, needing the exercise to work off our expanding waistlines. While hardly legendary, it had been a pleasant eating out experience, with fairly friendly and efficient service and some hearty, "none-of-that-nouvelle-cuisine-nonsense," Yorkshire pub food.

The bill came in at just over £35 for the four of us, including drinks, which wasn't bad. I wouldn't drive specially up to Saltersgate just to eat out, but I can recommend it as an ideal halt for travellers and, of course, walkers with a healthy appetite to satisfy.

Legendary Saltersgate Inn, Saltersgate, on the A169 between Pickering and Whitby. Tel 01751 460237.

Mike and his family visited on Saturday, April 24, 2004.

Updated: 08:59 Saturday, May 15, 2004