The UK's best country pubs with rooms
Nothing screams quintessentially British quite like a country pub with rooms. These little inns welcome you with open arms, roaring fires, cold ale and deliciously fresh food. The UK has seen a resurgence of country pubs with rooms in the past few years with a focus on snug bedrooms, quirky designs and all the comforts that come with a hotel stay. Whether you’re looking to soak in a roll-top copper bath or tuck into pork belly with baked celeriac, these pubs have it all – so pack your suitcase and get yourself booked in for a lovely weekend break. If you're just on the hunt for a delicious meal rather than a weekend away, then look no further than our favourite country pubs in the UK and Ireland.
The Black Horse, Oxfordshire
When it comes to pubs with rooms, the Cotswolds are a veritable feast, and visitors are even more spoilt for choice now that The Black Horse pub has opened in the village of Salford, near Chipping Norton and the Neolithic Rollright Stones. Owners, The Lionhearth Group, recently added this beauty to their collection of grown-up gastro pubs (which includes The Chequers in Churchill), bolstering the area’s draw as a foodie destination. The Black Horse has undergone a full-monty refresh, its dark antique wood, classic panelling, and maroon and forest green colour scheme designed with the same unpretentious stylishness as its sister pubs. By a roaring fire, diners chow down on seasonal pub classics like pork belly or seabass and salt-baked celeriac, and there’s even curried goat with rice and peas and roti among the snacks. The Caribbean theme continues with the dessert menu’s rotisserie pineapple tart tatin, although nostalgists can revel in the spotted dick drenched in ladles of custard. Afterwards, overnighters will want to rest their bellies in the snug Salford Cottage, whose bedroom suite, elegant lounge and fully equipped kitchenette come in restful Eau de Nil hues. Noo Saro-Wiwa
Address: The Black Horse, Salford, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire OX7 5YW, United Kingdom
Price: Doubles from £185
The White Horse, Graffham
Any white harts or red lions roaming the woods nearby may beg to differ, but the White Horse is a classic pubby name, isn’t it? Close to Petworth in the South Downs village of Graffham – a little hamlet of the sort frequented by retired 19th-century clerics and 20th-century cabinet ministers – an equine sign hangs proudly by the roadside. This White Horse, though, has been to an equestrian school and is more of a Lipizzaner now. So those seeking merely a pint and pork scratchings will be disappointed, but those searching for a stylish countryside stay snaffling on locally sourced ingredients cooked to perfection won’t be. It graduated from pub to restaurant-with-rooms in 2023, with interiors by Sussex-based designer Anna Hewitson, whose uncluttered but whimsical style includes handmade ceramics on the walls, wicker chairs and hand-printed Indian fabrics. There’s more wicker in the six gabled bedrooms set in stone outbuildings at the back, all named after wildflowers – mine was Tansy – and individually decorated with namesake prints on the headboards, warm bathrooms (only Foxglove has a tub) and uninterrupted views of the wooded hills outside. Back in the former pub, however – make a Sussex negroni or pint of Langhams’ IPA an aperitif, your call – all eyes are on Grant Jones’ food. Treat yourself to the tasting menu, which takes you on a culinary tour of the region, from the shavings of Sussex truffle atop the leek mimosa and the venison carpaccio to the wild sea bass dressed with Chantilly sauce, open clams fluttering like briny butterflies nearby. The chocolate brownie – a nod to Jones’ training at the late Gavroche – deserves the exclamation point on the menu. It’s all very accomplished but also very personable – despite the recent bloom of country pubs with serious foodie credentials, this is ahead by a furlong. Rick Jordan
Address: The White Horse, Graffham, Petworth GU28 0NT
Price: double rooms from £225
The Bull, Charlbury
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more charming and quaint destination than Charlbury. The town screams Cotswolds, with higgledy-piggledy, honey-hued homes lining the narrow streets into the centre of town.
The Bull sits in the heart of Charlbury, where passersby are lured in by the inviting fires and promise of a cosy time. The pub’s recent refurbishment was meticulously curated by two Cotswold locals, Phil Winser and James Gummer, the pair behind Notting Hill’s The Pelican. The interiors take a minimalist approach, letting the beauty of the building speak for itself. Wooden-beamed ceilings sit low; plush leather chairs are tucked into cosy corners, and mellow candlelight complements the centrepiece fireplaces. The minimalist design carries into the rooms, where subtle textures and creamy colours create an inviting atmosphere. We were lucky enough to stay in Room Six. Sloped ceilings frame the canopy bed, which leads to my favourite feature – an en-suite bath equipped with a log fire, views of the garden and Charlbury’s chocolate box high street. A long, indulgent soak was the perfect follow-up to a country walk on a brisk winter day.
Head downstairs for dinner, quite possibly the best meal you’ll have in 2024. Chewy soda bread infused with seaweed, meaty scallops in parsnip and langoustine broth and creamy leeks served with Lincolnshire Poacher. The main event was the rib of beef, which has to be the most perfectly cooked piece of meat I’ve had in years. Top it off with a tipple by the fireplace, and you’ve got a recipe for the perfect countryside getaway. Amber Port
Address: The Bull, Sheep Street, Charlbury, Chipping Norton OX7 3RR
Price: Doubles from £195
Fleur de Lys, Bampton, Oxfordshire
The dog biscuits in the Bonne Maman jar atop the bar sum it all up. This delightful new “bistro with bedrooms” is a brilliantly French statement, yet set in the mud-stompingly British village of Bampton – home of Downton – on the edge of the Cotswolds. Owned by David Buttress, co-founder of Just Eat, and his wife Gemma, and headed up by Frenchman Olivier Bonte, who cut his teeth at Dormy House and now owns two restaurants in Bourton-on-the-Water, it’s an inspired partnership. It’s also the smart refuel that Bampton needs, the early 19th-century building (once The Romany Inn) having lain dormant for years. Gemma transformed the interiors with château finds, antique French fashion plates and flamboyant feather boa lights. The brasserie, with young staff in Breton tops, packs a punch – starting with the raspberry-hued woodwork, wall tapestries, nooks with well-thumbed Michel Roux cookbooks and macramé-dressed bay windows. The spectacular food from Stuart Banks, former culinary genius of The Chequers Inn in Churchill, includes escargots bathed in garlic butter, Bouillabaisse that tastes like Marseille and an exquisite Tarte Tatin that keeps locals returning – all to the sound of chansons by Édith Piaf. Yet the menu still features a Full English breakfast and a stonking Sunday roast, using meat from award-winning Patrick Strainge Butchers next door. Eight characterful bedrooms – including Bardot, Bovary and Matisse – have charming white wrought iron beds, boudoir dressing tables, sumptuous striped curtains and floral wallpaper. If the Pétanque in the garden spells France again, the Bampton House bathroom products, created down the road, add Britishness. Harriet Compston
Address: Fleur de Lys, Bridge Street, Bampton OX18 2HA
Price: Doubles from £100 on a bed and breakfast basis
Ed SchofieldThe Queen's Head, Wiltshire
Past patchwork fields, hollyhocked verges and emerald-flecked streams sits the village of Broad Chalke, whose handsome abodes include the Queen Anne masterpiece Reddish House, Cecil Beaton’s old home. At the centre of the village, literally and figuratively, is The Queen’s Head. The 19th-century inn has been taken over by the Chickpea Group, proprietors of five pubs with rooms right across Wiltshire, including The Bell & Crown in Zeals. Outside, aged kegs become perches for pints, and sparrows dart from the sky. Abeergarden offers refuge for walkers and riders (a sign reminds equestrians to keep horses tethered). Local ales such as Rude Giant IPA lure a village crowd to the low-ceilinged bar. This is not the hostelry of purring Aston Martins, but an honest local with a menu reflecting hearty appetites. There are cheeseburgers and elevated chicken kiev, while refined mains include a delicious haddock chowder dressed with samphire. The gougères are cloud-light. Art curated from the co-owner’s collection adds modern panache to the skewwhiff beams and boot-worn flagstones. A garden festooned with lights and centuries-old oak trunk tables hosts pales of purple dahlia, pergola-trained grapes and scented rosemary. The four courtyard rooms are an easy-on-the-eye meld of teal linens, green lacquered lamps and Fermoie cushions, with Land & Water grapefruit-scented bathroom toiletries. This was once part of the Earl of Pembroke’s estate, and his nearby Wilton House is worth a snoop to see the classic cars. Alternatively, walks across the tuft-edged Chalke Valley offer the chance to work off breakfast feasts of homemade granola and eggs Benedict. Jemima Sissons
Address: The Queen's Head, 1 North Street, Broad Chalke, SP5 5EN, United Kingdom
Price: Doubles from £95
Tim GreenMyse, North Yorkshire
Riffing on the Anglo-Saxon word for a feast, Mýse is the new incarnation from the husband-and-wife team behind York’s revered Gallic-inspired dining room Le Cochon Aveugle. It closed last year to make way for this restaurant with rooms in the pretty village of Hovingham. Once a local boozer, these days it has sprigs of dried gypsophila and eucalyptus hanging above a sycamore bar; kindling crackling in wood-burning stoves. Muddy-booted hikers are as welcome as designer-clad diners, who seek out its Howardian golden ale and home-cured charcuterie. For the tasting-menu-only lunch and dinner, chef Josh Overington elevates the county’s bountiful cuisine: his take on “Yorkshire salad” – traditionally cucumber and malt vinegar – is here transcendent alongside a beef cheek beignet and topped with homegrown oregano flowers. Herdwick lamb is braised in ale and spruce-smoked. A gin fizz is infused with nasturtium leaves; bread with fennel and onion seeds is served with chicken dripping. The wines are first-rate – such as a Saint Aubin 2020 Burgundy, as creamy as the Ampersand Dairy butter – and veer into uncelebrated territories, as with Corsica’s Domaine Giudicelli Patrimonio. The earthy, pared-down aesthetic of tongue-and-groove, muted hues and cereal tones is calming. The three bedrooms come with frankincense-scented Chapter Organics toiletries and a welcome parcel of Yorkshire parkin. Deep beds provide comfort and churchside, chime-mellowed slumber. JS
Address: Myse, Main Street, Hovingham, York YO62 4LF
Price: Doubles from £470 (includes a tasting menu for two)
Andrew Hayes-WatkinsThe Abbey Inn, North Yorkshire
The flower-fringed garden of Michelin-starred chef Tommy Banks’s latest pub with rooms overlooks the Cistercian monastery of Byland, with the forest-clad Kilburn White Horse in the distance. The remastered inn, an erstwhile monk’s farmhouse, has been a project for the whole Banks family. Anne, Tommy’s mother, took charge of the perfectly imperfect interiors with low-slung beams and toasty hearths. Beautifully crafted wooden furniture commissioned from farm-set workshops joins bright wildflowers adorning the tables and antique rugs softening the flagstone. Three sumptuous new rooms include soft, locally milled herringbone cushions and throws, family antiques, roll-top baths, and toiletries from Harrogate-based H2k. On the façade hangs a handcrafted pub sign by paterfamilias Tom Banks. Brother James, of the Banks Brothers tinned-wine brand, created cocktails including a winning Byland spritz, combining Crémant, marigold and rhubarb. The menu centres on reinvented British classics, with Tommy and head chef Charlie Smith using produce from the family farm and garden. The Byland burger stars Oldstead beef from a mile away and an upscaled smoked-haddock pottage. The Sunday roast is among the best around: pork belly that melts in the mouth; glazed pig cheek; toad-in-the-hole; a fruitily sweet Eton mess sundae. Breakfast is served in bed on Royal Doulton china: hen’s eggs, Oldstead charcuterie, cheeses from Courtyard Dairy and sourdough. A two-night “dining experience” includes a stay at The Black Swan (Tommy’s nearby Michelin superstar) as well as here – a culinary sleepover with soul-reviving views. Rachel Everett
Address: The Abbey Inn, The Abbey Inn, York YO61 4BD
Price: Doubles from £350
Sam HarrisThe Sherborne Arms, Gloucestershire
In the town of Northleach – call it a village at your peril – they still talk about the New Year’s Eve party at The Wheatsheaf Inn a decade ago. The Wheatsheaf isn’t The Sherborne, but it’s where Tom Noest and Pete Creed met and honed their love for pubs before opening their own. Six years later, the pair have five Cotswolds venues under their belt, all with good times in their DNA and a commitment to the sort of unpretentious food you’d travel miles for. The Sherborne reopened in May after years of neglect. It is deceptively large behind a tiny, missable, town-square frontage – though the Hardy-esque drinkers on the bench outside are a sign. Inside are duck-your-head rafters, a reassuring pubby patina of bottle-green spaces, framed beer labels, and vintage prints. On the menu are comfort-food classics such as venison sausages and mash, and ribeye with thrice-cooked chips – but also elegant plates of panzanella with tomatoes grown nearby and lemon sole with a buttery rock pool of shrimps and sea greens. The rarebit starter with pickles is a delight, as is the gooseberry meringue: this is food to be dunked, dipped and scrunched. Upstairs are three thick-walled bedrooms, all with bathtubs, striped headboards and views over the church, where regular Steve Winwood has been known to lead the choir. Rick Jordan
Address: Sherborne Arms, B4425, Aldsworth, Cheltenham GL54 3RB
Price: Doubles from £89
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The Bell, Charlbury
Daylesford has a new sibling in town – a 17th-century pub with rooms in the charming village of Charlbury, which just opened after a three-year renovation project. Rooms include spacious doubles, a family dorm sleeping four, a roomy loft suite, and a few dog-friendly bedrooms in The Barn, so pooches don’t miss out. The 12 uniquely decorated bedrooms take inspiration from the local woodlands and earthy natural tones of the rural Cotswolds. Four-poster beds are dressed in hand-embroidered fabrics with matching curtains, repurposed shabby chic furniture sits atop woven rugs, and cosy nooks are filled with upholstered armchairs and lit by statement ceramic lamps. There’s a little bar at the centre of the higgledy-piggledy pub, where cosy rooms are stitched together and dominated by an open fireplace. The team scatters fresh wildflowers picked from Carole Bamford’s garden on the heavy oak tables; makeshift lamps are repurposed from old bells and custom ceramics hand-printed with, you guessed it, bells. The standout menu, cooked with ingredients from Daylesford Organic farm, is a cut above your usual pub offering. We loved the French dip sandwich, stuffed with soft beef brisket and cheese and served with a pot of dipping gravy. The huge tranche of Dover sole doused in butter and topped with cockles is well worth ordering, too. Head to the Bell on a Sunday, pick up one of the many board games scattered throughout the pub and settle in for a traditional roast. There’s no doubt this new opening will have walls brimming with chirpy locals and Daylesford fans from the get-go. There are also big plans for the walled orchard garden out back, cinema nights, pizza ovens and wellness activities. Watch this space. If you needed any more convincing, staying at a Daylesford property includes a discounted day pass to The Club by Bamford Spa and access to wholesome flower-arranging workshops and cooking classes. Sophie Knight
Address: The Bell, 1 Church Street, Charlbury, Chipping Norton OX7 3PP
Price: from £194 per night
Martin MorrellThe Fox at Oddington, Gloucestershire
With all the private members’ clubs popping up like porcini in the Cotswolds, a mere pub with rooms is starting to look decidedly quaint. But this is Carole Bamford’s sequel to The Wild Rabbit down the road, part of her evergrowing Daylesford empire (yes, she’s also been busy opening The Club by Bamford), and so while it may be a little quaint, it’s also lovingly honed and deeply sustainable. Designwise, Lady B hasn’t suddenly gone all Bauhaus: there are crisp ginghams, floral prints, vintage green bottles and milking stools in the bedrooms, which are all pleasingly set higgledy-piggledy up stairs and around corners. Most covetable? The ground-floor Den, with stencilled leaves leading to a private garden, and the family-friendly Hunting Lodge for its additional twin beds. Chef Alan Gleeson has a lot of fun plucking broad beans, artichokes and Gloucester Old Spot for his menus; the bar is still ruddy-cheeked enough to just about imagine a hobnailed farmer wandering in for a pint, shaking his head at the price of heritage tomatoes. Tom Parker Bowles
Address: High St, Lower Oddington, Moreton-in-Marsh GL56 0UR
Price: Doubles from £225
Paul WhitbreadHare & Hounds, Berkshire
For the full experience, and some Hunter S Thompson-style people-watching, it’s best to come to the Hare & Hounds on a race day when the bar is packed with visitors before they head off to Newbury Racecourse, taking care not to tread in one of the many dog bowls. Here’s a pub that embraces the area’s traditions but has a bit of fun; a little Fife Arms-y rural deluxe: those tweeds and tartans, boldprint wallpapers, antlers for lampshades and chandeliers, log burners every which way. There are nooks and crannies that befit a 17th century coaching inn, but also a spacious raftered barn for dining, with a menu that elevates pub classics: chicken-and-ham pie, truffle mash, chestnut mushroom gnocchi. The prawn cocktail with shaved fennel flies out like the frontrunner in the 3.10. Bedrooms are spread around the main building and former stables, each coming with a decanter of sloe gin and some with copper tubs. Donnington Castle is just a stone’s throw away. Tom Parker Bowles
Address: Bath Rd, Speen, Newbury RG14 1QY
Price: From £125 per night
Anton RodriguezThe Boot, Gloucestershire
The fearsome skull above the fireplace – that of a hippo of a venerable age – seems to have scared antlers, hunting prints and other country clichés away from this pub, which belongs to Barnsley House hotel down the road and has just been reborn. Instead, walls are lined with leather and new owner, interiors company Timothy Oulton, has assembled a cabinet of curiosities from its warehouse. A harp-playing ship’s figurehead greets drinkers at the bar; iron tool moulds slot together like a Futurist artwork. Most surprising is the Second World War bomb blanket, woven from thick rope, which took six men to mount on the wall. Everything ticks along under the watchful eye of young Henry Leschallas, a disarming presence who will usher over aperitifs by the fire and point you to the cheddar soufflé and beef wellington. Bedrooms date from the pub’s previous incarnation but are shipshape and warm. Breakfast means a short walk to Barnsley House and horticulture legend Rosemary Verey’s lyrical garden. Tom Parker Bowles
Address: The Boot, Barnsley, Cirencester GL7 5EF
Price: Double rooms from £200
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Steve JoyceThe Three Horseshoes, Somerset
It feels appropriate that Margot Henderson is returning to a pub, three decades after her time at The Eagle: the OG gastropub where she met Fergus and kicked off the narrative that led to era-defining restaurants including Rochelle Canteen and St John. This one is in tiny Batcombe in the Mendip Hills, and owned by art collector Max Wigram. “Though in places like this, pubs aren’t really owned by individuals – they’re part of the community,” says Henderson. The Three Horseshoes has been renovated, but with antique oak tables, trunks and settle benches that make it feel as if it’s been this way for centuries. Upstairs are five rooms dressed with floral and striped fabrics, Conran rugs and linen throws. The kitchen features handfuls of local produce: cob nuts, apples and greens from no-dig guru Charles Dowding, asparagus and the occasional pig from a nearby small farm. “It’s like Elizabeth David writing about the South of France,” says Henderson. “You get that same sense with England now, eating here, having a pint there – there’s just so many great food and drink producers.” Tom Parker Bowles
Address: Batcombe, Shepton Mallet BA4 6HE
Price: TBC
Jake EasthamWild & Thyme, Gloucestershire
The name is almost pastiche Cotswolds – the title for a spoof detective series set in Chipping Norton, perhaps. Opening on the banks of Ampney Brook outside Cirencester at the tail end of 2021, this pub takes itself quite seriously, however, with bedrooms that are more hotel than inn. Timber-clad, they are set along willow-screened corridors, with welcome mats and boot scrapers outside each door giving a pleasing sense of independence – though not as much as the stand-alone cottage with its own sauna. An Alpine-style courtyard – double-sided fireplace and sheepskin throws, sheltered by a tepee canvas – links the rooms with the actual pub, The Crown, which has Enomatic fine wines on tap and serves rampedup comfort food such as robata-seared steaks and bang bang cauliflower. Some guests bag the dining pods along the riverbank but we prefer to be in the thick of the action, in the warm embrace of the wood-lined dining room. Tom Parker Bowles
Address: Ampney Crucis, Cirencester GL7 5RS
Price: Doubles from £130
We The Food SnobsThe Princess Royal, London
What was once a drab, nondescript Notting Hill pub, suffused with the whiff of stale beer and failure, is now reborn as The Princess Royal, a recent project from the ever-impressive Cubitt House group. The interior is bold, but never brassy, with bright fabrics, bare walls, two bars, a plant-filled conservatory and a rather beautiful garden. The food, which has a Mediterranean burr, is every bit the equal of the design, and is overseen by the group’s chef director, the deeply talented Ben Tish. Seafood plays a starring role, with fresh crudos and tartares, Lindisfarne oysters with chorizo, Cornish crab and smoked anchovies on toast. There’s also good pasta, whole fish cooked over coals, joyous salads and some serious grilled meat. Oh, and proper cocktails too. Upstairs are four elegant bedrooms, each individually designed, with huge beds, vast tubs or rainforest showers and 100 Acres bath stuff. Nothing grand or pompous, just civilised, comfortable and laid-back. Tom Parker Bowles
Address: 47 Hereford Rd, London W2 5AH
Price: Doubles from £200
The Beckford Arms, Salisbury
In a pitch-dark Wiltshire valley, The Beckford Arms is a sight for road-weary eyes: an 18th-century pub with rooms, covered in ivy, reassuringly hopping at dinnertime. From outside, you can see two woodfires going full tilt. There’s an even-keel barman passing drinks beneath a chalkboard list of cartridges for pheasant shooting, and servers delivering slices of Stilton with homemade digestive biscuits. As we wait for our room key, my four-year-old hones in on a coin-operated chocolate egg dispenser and a pile of 20ps on the bar, and I have the sense that nobody in here can believe their luck.
The Beckford Arms opened in 2009, and thanks to its first-rate restaurant, became a destination rather than a stopover – a springboard for exploring the sloping, rook-speckled Fonthill estate, where the pub is located, and handsome villages like Tisbury and Hindon. Last autumn, new standalone accommodation opened within the Arch, a Georgian gatehouse marking the entrance to the Fonthill parkland. The interiors – decorated by Beckford owner Charlie Luxton and Patrick O’Donnell from Farrow and Ball – have a below-stairs grandeur: panelling and loaner walking sticks, ship-cabin bunkbeds and vintage Booths china in a discontinued pattern called, pleasingly, “Floradora.” An ox-eye window above the kitchen sink overlooks the rural road to The Beckford Arms, which is a few minutes away by car. The Arch is provisioned for self-catering, but a hot breakfast at the pub is included in the nightly rate – don’t skip it. Jo Rodgers
Address: Fonthill Gifford, Salisbury SP3 6PX
Price: From £115
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The Bell and Crown, Zeals
Originally renovated in 2019, The Bell and Crown did not just survive through the pandemic, it thrived. It's set in Zeals – a picturesque village in southwest Wiltshire, a short drive from trendy Frome and Bruton. The former coaching inn is owned by The Chickpea Group, an exciting young business that has nurtured several pubs in the area. Now, adding six upstairs rooms, they have turned a locals' favourite pub into a city dwellers’ weekend getaway, all while keeping the regulars constantly coming back. The rooms are clad in neutral shades and textures, with flashes of colours and prints that reflect the team’s appreciation of contemporary design: Moroccan Berber rugs, handmade fabric lampshades and walls dotted with eclectic, tasteful art. On the ever-changing menu is classic pub fare with a twist – 'Nduja scotch eggs, a locally sourced rack of lamb with garlic mash and a sticky toffee pudding guaranteed to have you rolling upstairs to your room. In the morning, a hearty traditional breakfast includes surprises like Negroni shots (the first one's on them) and pop tarts. Out back, the quiet covered seating area looks out on a peaceful arable field – the ideal spot for a sundowner. Every aspect of the pub contributes to a mood of considered simplicity combined with unexpected, thoughtful details, from the weekly pop-up pizza van to the freshly baked cookies waiting in your room, and the friendly staff brimming with energy. Florrie Thomas
Address: The Bell and Crown, New Road, Zeals, BA12 6NJ
Price: Doubles from £100
The Double Red Duke, The Cotswolds
It’s easy to spot this wisteria-clad 17th-century coaching inn, with its candy-striped umbrellas forming a jaunty Soho House-style beacon. In many ways the revamped Oxfordshire pub (part of the Country Creatures group) draws parallels with the global members’ club. Aimed at city-living weekenders, rooms are decorated with floral wallpaper, botanical block-print lampshades and velvet headboards in burnt orange and teal. Kick off with a house cocktail crafted with gin, basil, white pepper and lemon. Or a vodka: with a whole page of the menu dedicated to local blends – such as silky-smooth Wood Brothers and Toad Rye – the pre-prandial hour can easily slip into two. Luckily, there’s plenty of delicious fare to keep things on an even keel. Whipped broad-bean mash with flatbreads, say, alongside wood-roasted scallops, followed by a Montgomery Cheddar soufflé with lobster and chips – well earned after a stomp around the bosky dells of Clanfield village. And homemade salted-caramel petits fours so good you’ll wish you could buy some to take home. Staff, wearing Fifties bowling jackets, are unfailingly enthusiastic, and the only sounds at night are the hoot of an owl and the gentle rustle of leaves. Jemima Sissons
Address: Bourton Road, Clanfield, Bampton OX18 2RB
Price: Doubles from £120
The Loch & The Tyne, Windsor
The sign that swings outside this Windsor address doesn’t have a castle or crown on it but the words ‘Sustainable British Luxury’, words that will hopefully become as ubiquitous as Red Lion one day. It’s the first pub from chef Adam Handling, who’s had a busy year – pivoting to home dinners in lockdown, cooking for the G7 leaders in Cornwall and opening an outpost of his London Butterfly restaurant near St Ives. As for the sign’s promise, it runs through this place like blue blood through royalty. Water’s recycled, furniture upcycled and the cycles themselves made from old Nespresso pods. It looks and feels like a proper pub, though, with a guitarist covering Eighties hits on Sunday and the chance of a pint and burger at the bar – albeit the best burger you’ll ever have, according to head chef Jonny McNeil, thanks to the lardo he uses. Scottish-born McNeil’s the Loch of the title, Steven Kerr is the Tyne, and the pair smuggle Irn-Bru into a cocktail or two, Newcastle Brown in the sourdough, on a menu that works hard to be zero-waste – trimmings from the star dish of lobster wagyu, for example, go to make croquettes, sauce for the cod and lobster tart. Upstairs are just a brace of bedrooms, well-tailored in bamboo and mango-wood furniture, with Haeckel's bath potions, a cocktail from Handling’s drinks lab, and a terrace with views over the fields. Nourishing on many levels. Rick Jordan
Address: 10 Crimp Hill, Old Windsor, Berkshire SL4 2QY
Price: Doubles from £187
The George & Heart House, Margate
While Margate has long outgrown its up- and-coming tag, the town’s transformation continues to gather pace with the revival of one of its original pubs. On the edge of Old Town – seconds from the beach, the Turner Contemporary and must-try restaurants – this 18th-century inn has been reincarnated as one of its most charismatic places to stay. Owners Kelly Love and Dan Williams first made waves running a tiki bar at street-food hub The Sun Deck; then they set about a major restoration of the George & Heart House, which opened at the end of 2019. This summer, six rooms were added to the wabi-sabi-like top floor, with its wonky floorboards, gold-leaf-adorned staircases and stripped paint revealing decades-old wall- paper. Ranging from shimmering Seventies chic to black-and-gold Art Deco glamour, each one (two share bathrooms) has been created by a local artist. The Hideaway, for instance, has a freestanding bath at the end of the four-poster bed, a tongue-in-cheek framed quote by Margate-raised Tracey Emin and gold drapes that reveal glimpses of Turner’s beloved sunsets across the rooftops. Guests have exclusive access to Reggie’s Bar, a cute spot for fixing a late-night dram or early-morning coffee, as well as a wellness area and palm-lined garden. Perhaps the biggest draw, though, is the prospect of a bed above one of the area’s best boozers, where a roster of takeovers, Sunday roasts and chef pop-ups ensures you see first-hand why this seaside town is buzzing again. Ben Olsen
Address: 44 King Street, Margate, Kent CT9 1QE
Price: Doubles from £115
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Martin MorrellThe Bradley Hare, Maiden Bradley
Wiltshire’s smartest new countryside inn is set in the tiny village of Maiden Bradley, part of the Duke of Somerset’s estate, where waves of barley and manicured tree tunnels shape the landscape beyond. Here, a bunch of ex-Soho House creatives – including James Thurstan Waterworth, former European design director – have given the old-school pub a cool, considered makeover. Provençal-farmhouse interiors come with a touch of flamboyance – a tub for two, say, or a curtained bed tucked in a nook. In the 12 characterful rooms (some are above the pub; the largest are in the Coach House), earthy Farrow & Ball hues are teamed with repurposed fabrics, 18th-century furniture and vintage Persian rugs. Downstairs, the deliberately low-key look – scuffed wooden floors, rickety chairs and cosy corners with roaring fires that have kept villagers returning – belies the skill of Luke the bartender, who appears with a Limoncello Spritz at precisely five o’clock, and the sustainable approach to the food. Vegetables are grown on the nearby community allotment and the kitchen is aiming towards zero-waste with a seasonal menu of dishes such as whipped smoked mackerel with rainbow beetroot and a sirloin sandwich with Isle of Wight tomatoes. A brilliant rural stopover, 15 minutes’ drive from arty Frome. Katharine Sohn
Address: Church Street, Maiden Bradley BA12 7HW
Price: Doubles from £150
The Taybank, Perthshire
In the postcard-pretty Perthshire village of Dunkeld, the high street is peppered with indie stores such as Aran, the hip bakery from The Great British Bake Off semi-finalist Flora Shedden. By the river is the Taybank, an inn famous for its traditional music scene – it was once owned by Dougie Maclean, who wrote Scottish folk anthem ‘Caledonia’. In 2019 the place was taken over by ex-polo player and Edinburgh Fringe caterer Fraser Potter, only to close three months later. Its refurb became his lockdown project. With the help of his friend Anna Lamotte from Guardswell Farm down the road (the kitchen’s vegetable supplier), he redesigned the interiors into five Scandi-chic, tech-free bedrooms, doing most of the joinery himself. Room five in the eaves is the one to book, a cosy cocoon with burnished-copper lamps, granite-grey paintwork and a headboard balanced with books, a lute and drip coffee cups made by local potter Ellen Macfarlane. Add luscious bathroom products by Laura Thomas, a hamper for breakfast in bed and a civilised noon checkout. The ground-floor bar still has a spit’n’sawdust vibe, with instruments stacked in the corner for impromptu jams. Through the restaurant windows you can gaze over another of Potter’s innovations. The car park and lawn sloping down to the Tay are now a giant canvas-topped beer garden with an outdoor kitchen, pizza oven and fire-pit. Lucy Gillmore
Address: Dunkeld, Perthshire PH8 0AQ
Price: Doubles from £150
The Lamb Inn, Oxfordshire
This is the quintessential modern pub: a space for Cotswolds locals, visitors and gastronomic hipsters. On a Tuesday evening an old gent from down the road with mutton-chop whiskers and a Laurie Lee lilt tucks into fish and chips under black-and-white photographs by William Waterworth, to a soundtrack of blues. The second inn from talented young chefs Tom Noest and Peter Creed of The Bell in Langford, The Lamb has taken over an old pub in the Oxfordshire village of Shipton-under-Wychwood, and is already a local hub. The junior football team piles in with their parents after training to sup cloudy apple juice and pints of Hooky as the inevitable stream of Londoners descends for over-the-limit Negronis and the famous bone-marrow flatbread. It’s something of a natural history museum too; moths in frames and stags’ heads line the walls alongside prints from the owners’ art-world friends. Rooms (it opened with five, with five more just added) celebrate the building’s beautiful 14th-century bones, with wide wooden floorboards and sash windows softened with ikat cushions. Food is hearty – the buttermilk-fried chicken with aioli is worth crossing counties for and the lemon tart is a bouncy citrus dream. The wine list has weighty white Burgundies and plenty for natural-wine lovers. By the end of the evening, everyone is friends, sharing shots of plum brandy, phone numbers and raucous tales. JS
Address: High St, Shipton Under Wychwood OX7 6DQ
Price: Doubles from £90
Helen CathcartThe Bear Inn, Shropshire
‘I went about this job as if I was designing a private house,’ says interiors whizz Octavia Dickinson of her recent work at this spot in the north Shropshire village of Hodnet. Working alongside her was her friend, and The Bear’s landlord, Tom Heber-Percy, whose family own much of the pretty Tudor village, including Hodnet Hall. Out went all legacies of the pub’s long and chequered past, most notably the bear pit, revived for a nefarious spell in the 1970s when the tenants kept two grizzlies on site; in came bold colour and playfulness, fine art and furniture and lashings of fabric sourced from a roll-call of British interior design and auction houses. Each room (there are seven in the main building and five in the coach house, all named after trees) has its own personality – Juniper, Rowan and Ash have small sitting rooms; dog-friendly, ground-floor Sycamore and Birch open onto the courtyard. Food is taken seriously here – more posh pub grub than fine dining (rabbit pasties; pork belly with baked celeriac) with an emphasis on local produce, some straight from the hall’s 200-year-old walled garden. Eat in the open-plan informal dining room and bar, or in one of the stable-style booths by the outdoor area that’s designed to resemble a French village square – the furniture is the same as found in Paris’s Luxembourg Garden. Pamela Goodman
Address: Drayton Road, Hodnet, Shropshire TF9 3NH
Price: Doubles from £110
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The Alice Hawthorn, North Yorkshire
With vine-covered cottages and an ancient church overlooking a green where cows graze, the charming village of Nun Monkton near York could have been plucked straight from a children’s fable. Its 250-year-old pub has long been a draw for foodies, who come for the Michelin Guide restaurant. But, in 2017, new owners Claire and John Topham took the risky decision to give the inn a facelift – and it paid off. Upstairs has been renovated to create four restful rooms in muted shades, with beamed ceilings and huge bathtubs. Most recently, eight new garden rooms built from Douglas fir have modern, chalet-inspired interiors: wood- panelled walls, rocking chairs and sliding glass doors that lead to a balcony opening onto the courtyard. Despite the revamp, the old-world feel is as strong as ever. In the bar, rustic tables and exposed brickwork are paired with framed newspaper clippings on the walls, and come evening, locals huddle around great yawning fireplaces fronted by thick rugs. On the menu, traditional dishes are given a twist: prawns coated in crispy batter are served with a peppy wasabi mayo; a deconstructed tiramisu has a layer of icy espresso granita and a balloon of coffee-flavoured cream. A peaceful, pastoral escape with culinary kudos that hits the sweet spot. Olivia Morelli
Address: The Green, Nun Monkton, York YO26 8EW
Price: Doubles from £120
The Duncombe Arms, on the Staffordshire-Derbyshire border
We drove past it every day wondering what on earth to do with it,’ chuckles Laura Greenall, referring to a boarded-up, unloved pub on the edge of her and husband Johnny’s Staffordshire-Derbyshire estate. Her casual recollection belies the couple’s hospitality brio, lofty food standards and sharp design eye, responsible for reinstating the Duncombe Arms as the local community hub since 2012. While keeping the key trappings and spirit of the traditional pub – cosy nooks, a roaring open fire and Merlot-hued rugs warming flagstones – they installed an impressive farm-to-fork ethos, working closely with a cattle and sheep farm in the Staffordshire Moorlands, as well as a fresh riff on rustic design (woolly blankets flung over rattan furniture beside fire-pits outside; cushioned chairs, tartan and quirky cow canvases inside).
And while this spot is perfectly placed for Peak District ramblers, particularly as the sun shifts north across the magnificent mass of rock, soft grass and wildflowers, it's the imaginative and elevated menu that pulls in the crowds: roasted Jerusalem artichoke starters with shaved truffle; Staffordshire lamb-rump mains with miso-baked carrot and ewe’s curd. House sourdough, buckwheat and barley spring-onion salads and other cosmopolitan delights appear to have drifted north from London’s restaurant scene along with Adam Handling-trained chef Jake Boyce, whose emphasis on produce and knack for creative spins on much-loved classics has placed the Duncombe Arms firmly on the UK’s foodie map. General manager James Oddy has worked with Bibendum Wine to curate an extensive and intriguing wine list worth hanging around for, along with the artfully light English puddings. This can be for the night or longer in Walnut House’s refined rooms, and with a small group in the smartly renovated Old Barn (more a charming cottage), both a stone’s throw away. Why not make a weekend or even a week of it and hunker down with five others in the Garden Cottage, set in a secluded spot on the bucolic Wootton Hall estate? A lovely launchpad for scaling the Peaks and feasting on a legendary Duncombe Arms burger with bacon jam and a Greenhall’s G&T. Rosalyn Wikeley
Address: Ellastone, Ashbourne DE6 2GZ
Price: double rooms from £195
The Pheasant Inn, near Hungerford
Having hailed from the Greenall Whitley brewing dynasty, affable and terribly polite Jack Greenall took on the Pheasant Inn, turning a worn-out racing country local on the fringes of antiques-town Hungerford into something more remarkable. Rather than cut the racing ties or alienate its distinctly rural community with new-age know-it-all and predictable urban takes on country interiors, he oversaw a thorough yet measured revamp, keeping the locals and tempting Londoners to chug that little bit further along the M4. Comforting deep-green and red hues still deck the pub despite smartly furnished country rooms upstairs while scrumptiously innovative riffs on old classics, such as the black pudding Scotch egg with fruity brown sauce and the Marlborough mushroom Wellington, make the hour-and-a-bit long drive from London more than worth it. The wood-panelled walls and cosy courtyard are filled with the ruddy-cheeked spirit of a convivial country bolthole where Negronis, cashew-nut hummus starters and modern art sit effortlessly alongside guest ales, venison and shelves of battered leather-bound books. Long, expertly plucked wine lists and cheese boards encourage guests to settle in, which on a Sunday warrants a free night’s stay should they spend more than £100 in the pub. By Rosalyn Wikeley
Address: Ermin Street, Shefford Woodlands, Hungerford RG17 7AA
Price: double rooms from £105
Michael Little PhotographyThe Dundas Arms, Kintbury, Berkshire
It's hard to beat this in terms of Trumpton-like charm. There's the railway crossing that ding dings just before it, the canal lock that see-saws when long-boats chortle through and the lovely, trout-fishing river that whirls past on the other side. The pub is at the centre of a certain bucolic bustle with walkers and dogs and locals and families all trotting around their business. There's a wooden terrace right over the water where children can feed the ducks with hunks of bread provided by the staff, and a heavenly garden with enough twisty trees to play a game of sardines while parents tuck into good cider. Other pubs in the group include the flagship Admiral Codrington in London and the lovely Museum in Dorset; they all share a certain look: traditional structures that are tuned to their best by being entirely cosy but fresh, with great wallpapers and blazing fres; there's even a Victorian bar here made out of old minted pennies. Staff, who all wear stripes and have a spring in their step, scurry about carrying bottles of good claret - or pots of crayons. The food is simple and hearty: great pâtés, proper roasts, lightly battered fish and chips. Book a River Room with a private terrace right next to the water; breakfast on a sunny Sunday, reading the papers - at this great price – is all rather satisfying.
Address: 53 Station Rd, Kintbury, Hungerford RG17 9UT
Price: double rooms from £100
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The Punch Bowl, Crosthwaite, Cumbria
The Friday night crowd here looks like this: the odd City boy getting away from it all, gamekeepers from the local hunt, and walkers whacked out after a day of fresh air in the nearby Windermere fells, all hunkering down by the fireplace in the bar or sitting at wooden tables in the more formal dining room. In either space you can wolf down feather- light, twice-baked Lancashire soufflé with tomato chutney or delicate loin of rabbit, knocked up by rising star young chef Scott Fairweather. Upstairs, there are nine totally different rooms: Cooper and Birkett come with contemporary elm four-poster beds; grand, traditional Strickland has dramatic hand-blocked wallpaper and a silk corona; and Noble, the biggest of the bunch, is a loft suite in the eaves with wooden beams and two free-standing baths side by side. There are Roberts radios on the dressing tables, woollen throws on the beds and pops of colour from sage green to raspberry red. Wake up in the morning, pull back the thick curtains and look out over a patchwork of fields. There's a parish church next door where the bellringers practise religiously and the touristy honeypot of Kendal is just five miles away.
Address: Punch Bowl Inn Crosthwaite Lyth Valley, Kendal LA8 8HR
Price: double rooms from £105
The Bell at Skenfrith, Monmouthshire, Wales
In the shadows of the medieval Skenfrith Castle and with the River Monnow rushing by the front of the building, The Bell has a dreamy setting. Bedrooms are completely on the button, with fresh daffodils on the windowsill, starched cotton sheets, Welsh wool blankets tucked into deeply comfortable beds, and Cath Collins products in the large bathrooms. There's a jug of cold, fresh milk and a jar of home-made shortbread waiting on the tea tray or a bottle of Frapin VSOP cognac and two glasses on the nightstand if you feel like something a bit stronger, but it's the food that brings people here over and over again. The restaurant has roaring log fires and huge squishy sofas, mismatched wooden tables and a well thought-out wine list. The unfussy menu includes seasonal, locally sourced foods such as fillet of Brecon beef, Monmouthshire lamb, Gloucester Old Spot pork and organic vegetables from The Bell's own kitchen garden. And with no mobile phone reception and a deep-black star-lit sky at night, this is a place to come and really switch off.
Address: Skenfrith, Monmouthshire, Wales. NP7 8UH
Price: double rooms from £150
Jake EasthamThe Wheatsheaf, Northleach, Gloucestershire
Humming with musical chitchat and popping fires, The Wheatsheaf is all about atmosphere. And it has singlehandedly put the small town of Northleach on the map. Owners Sam and Georgie Pearman are bright and bubbly, and work tirelessly on their Cotswolds projects (as well as The Wheatsheaf, they steer The Chequers pub in Kingham and The Royal Well Tavern in Cheltenham, where their new boutique hotel 131 is also making a stir). He used to play rugby, she's an ex-lawyer, between them they know how to nail everything you want in a country boozer. For starters, the booze itself, including their own brew Bobby Beer. There are big platters of oysters, amazing chilli squid, spot-on steak and chips, and ham hock or halibut with a beetroot and granola sidekick. The warm treacle tart with clotted cream is a waist-expanding hallmark. Interiors are no less considered. Moody coloured walls are bedecked with antlers and oil portraits. There are a few stuffed ducks about the place, plenty of candles and a large jar full of hangover cures for those who stay the night. Bedrooms one and 11 are the best. One is masculine and dark, with grey herringbone fabric and a pewter bath sitting on the slate-tiled floor. Room 11 is more feminine, with girly greens, sisal flooring, a bateau bath and bedside tables fashioned from old Harrods removal boxes. The gorgeous private dining room, with glittering chandeliers and chairs draped in furs, gets booked months in advance.
Address: W End, Northleach, Cheltenham GL54 3EZ
Price: double rooms from £140
Jake EasthamThe Kingham Plough, Kingham, Oxfordshire
Run by an eager-to-please, ruddy-faced couple, Miles Lampson and Emily Watkins, this bolthole is full of personal charm (there are even pictures of their children on the walls). In the heart of the quaint village of Kingham, it is brilliantly located to explore nearby Stowe, Chipping Camden and Burford, and is a 20-minute walk along the back roads to Daylesford Organic's mothership. It's the kind of place where if you'd had one too many but forgotten to book a room, they wouldn't kick you out. The owners are fiercely proud of the pub's surroundings and have strong links with local farmers (once a year the car park is transformed into a big food-filled market drawing a crowd of thousands). Breakfast is bliss: excellent freshly ground coffee, Burford Browns with tangerine yolks, home-made bread and baked beans that don't come from a tin. The selection of booze is impressive, including Cotswolds Gin and almost every beer and cider imaginable, but you won't get too sozzled as bar snacks are taken very seriously: pork scratchings, venison salami, sausage rolls, and huge ploughman's (you are told exactly where each type of cheese and ham comes from). Rooms are unfussy, light and airy, with sweet-smelling Penhaligon's products, fluffy towels and little vases of flowers. The Plough is what every pub should be: dependable, delightful and, above all, an extremely good deal.
Address: The Grn, Kingham, Chipping Norton OX7 6YD
Price: double rooms from £95
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Jake EasthamThe Devonshire Arms, Somerset
This 17th-century former hunting lodge sits at the edge of a picture-perfect village green. There's a church peeking out from one corner, the old school house is opposite, and a gathering of sheep bleating in a nearby field. Step inside and there are flagstone floors, flickering church candles and battered leather sofas by a crackling log fire. At the weekend most of the big oak tables are laid for dinner. Everything's fresh from the countryside (the chefs go out foraging for wild garlic in the afternoon, by the evening it's on your plate as garlic mash) and the portions are robust (three organic pork sausages, not two). There's a tiny bar at the back, which gets packed with locals supping Harry's Somerset cider and Moor beer, both made in the village. It's also worth trying the apple juice, which is from Burrow Hill, Alice Temperley's family farm just down the road. Dinner over, it's off upstairs where most of the nine seagrass-floored bedrooms overlook the green. Number six is the grandest, with a mahogany four-poster, cream-coloured walls and a vast bathroom that has a walk-in shower and stand-alone bath. You might see owner Philip Mepham's gorgeous black labrador Coco wandering about the place, too; she's as soppy and affectionate as they come.
Address: Long Sutton, Langport TA10 9LP
Price: double rooms from £95
The Lamb at Hindon, Wiltshire
It's all change at The Lamb, part of the Boisdale mini-chain founded by Ranald MacDonald. Head chef Boyd McIntosh has shaken up the menu (less emphasis on the Boisdale burgers, more game and classics such as shepherd's pie), and the laid-back manager doesn't bat an eyelid if you tumble in crumpled from the car and late for your dinner reservation. A 12th-century coaching inn that was once home to 300 post horses and a favourite of the notorious smuggler Silas White (he stored contraband in the cellar), it still has bags of character. Traditional paintings hang on pillar-box-red walls. Ceilings are low with blackened beams. Chairs are mismatched and heraldic-looking and there are wooden settles for two. Scottish touches are everywhere, from the 100 types of whisky behind the bar to the haggis in the cooked breakfast and tartan carpet on the creaking, sloping floors in the corridor. The 19 Highland-fling-styled bedrooms have names such as Glenrothes and Bruichladdich (most are above the pub, but some, such as the lovely Glenlivet, are in the adjoining old stables), with heavy walnut furniture, walk-in cupboards for wardrobes and Neal's Yard products in the bathroom. Children will like the tucked-away games room with its DVDs and big-screen television; others will want to spend sunny afternoons playing boules in the garden across the road. Hindon itself is properly pretty - check out the shop, which is owned and run by the villagers as a collective - and brilliantly positioned for a stopover on the way to the South West.
Address: High St, Hindon, Salisbury SP3 6DP
Price: double rooms from £99
Matthew BuckThe Ram Inn, Firle, East Sussex
The wonky beams, heavy puddling curtains and charcoal-grey palette here work just as well during the winter months as the pretty walled gardens and quintessential cricket pitch do in the summer. Right in the heart of the South Downs, this pub has a big catchment area: creative types scoot up from Brighton, a media-savvy crowd schleps down from London. The snug bar, with a dartboard and cricket bats, is where you warm up with a pint of Sussex bitter, and there's relaxed, candlelit dining in the stable room. There's nothing predictable about the menu, with seriously good game from the Firle estate and fishermen delivering their catch each morning. When the pub recently had a spruce-up and opened four bedrooms in the ramshackle eaves, the village collectively sighed for fear that their secret was out, but so far the place has kept its integrity. Rooms have village views through huge (although slightly drafty) sash windows. One is tongue-and-groove panelled, another has a free-standing bath. This isn't high design but it's concise and comfortable, and leaves the pub and stable room to take centre stage. Employ some restraint at breakfast (locally made sausages, eggs from the village) if you plan on staying for a Sunday roast - unless you sandwich a blustery country walk in between.
Address: The St, Firle, West Firle, Lewes BN8 6NS
Price: double rooms from £90
The Devonshire Arms at Pilsley, Derbyshire
This cosy, welcoming inn with rooms on the Chatsworth Estate is the sister property of another Devonshire Arms. Which, confusingly, is also a cosy, welcoming inn with rooms on the Chatsworth Estate. This one at Pilsley is most definitely the more pubby of the pair, while its bedfellow in nearby Beeley concentrates more on its much-garlanded restaurant. The former, in a time-warp hamlet that could be the backdrop for a Foyle's War episode, has the Duchess of Devonshire to thank for its interior design. Along with her husband, the 12th Duke, she has played an active role in developing the business, and the pair often pop over from 'the big house' for Sunday lunch. The menu is neither pretentious nor flash, with a focus on hearty English dishes. The steak-and-kidney pudding is a treat, as is the full Derbyshire breakfast with local oatcakes. The seven rooms are crisp and comfortable, plates of sugar-dusted biscuits are left out every morning and bathrooms have full-throttle water pressure.
Address: High St, Pilsley, Bakewell DE45 1UL
Price: double rooms from £89
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Alan DonaldsonThe Black Horse Inn, Kirkby Fleetham, North Yorkshire
This is a quirky little place in a village smack-bang between the Dales and the Moors. Inside it's country-fête cosy, with pastel-painted distressed tables, gingham-covered chairs, white bunting and garden views. In contrast, the menu includes great, steaming fisherman's pie and roast chicken. Notes such as 'You'll never find a dull moment in this house' and 'The best tonic has a gin in it' are chalked up in the bar and locals, who come for Fish and Chip Friday, stay long into the night, drinking ale from the nearby Black Sheep Brewery and finishing up with shots of mini-Guinness (a curious concoction of Tia Maria and Baileys). Needless to say, avoid staying in Thelwell, the family room directly above the bar, at the weekend. Of the six other shabby-chic rooms, go for Desert Orchid at the back, with its duck-egg-blue walls and bathtub by the window. For a romantic lie-in (it's mostly couples who come here), get a hamper with cereals, milk and fruit juice in your room. There's a more substantial breakfast downstairs, including moreish rhubarb-and-ginger jam and enormous full English breakfasts with slabs of black pudding.
Address: 7 Lumley Ln, Kirkby Fleetham, Northallerton DL7 0SH
Price: double rooms from £75
The Drunken Duck, Ambleside, Cumbria
This 200- year-old inn, set in 60 acres of private land above Lake Windermere, is one of the most popular pubs in England's most popular national park - and it deserves its feathers. A combination of its situation, at a hilltop crossroads between the pretty villages of Ambleside and Hawkshead, and its on-site microbrewery have made it a long-standing favourite on ramblers' maps. But what really puts walking boots under tables here is the food, which is truly outstanding. Chiefly the signature drunken duck itself: a whole cherry-glazed bird, served with sweet braised red cabbage and crispy duck-fat-roasted potatoes. Bedrooms are spread between the inn and an outbuilding across the courtyard; the best of the lot is the Garden Room (reputedly a favourite of comedian Steve Coogan), with a private balcony and huge window looking out over the expansive valley below. The pub's water supply is filtered from nearby Duck Tarn. Its colour can be startling when you first fill your roll-top bath (the owners compare it to 'a fine malt'), but the water is also wonderfully soft. Plus, it's a crucial ingredient in the seven beers brewed here, some named after much-loved former pub pets.
Address: Barngates, Ambleside LA22 0NG
Price: double rooms from £125
The Bell, Ticehurst, East Sussex
There's nothing remarkable about a pub with a big open fire, chunky beams and weekenders sipping ale with wet dogs in tow. But The Bell in Ticehurst is so much more than that. On closer inspection, the table legs have been dipped in paint, the beams are held up by stuffed squirrels and the crowd at the bar is a mixture of ad execs, farmers, writers and priests. The oil painting dominating the dining room is an original Mary Carpenter portrait. There's a Banksy in the hall and Vivienne Westwood wallpaper on the ceilings. Reopened in November 2011 after a £2million refurbishment, it has all the trappings of an urban boutique hotel - flatscreen TVs, handmade mattresses by Somnus - but this is no identikit set-up. It's eclectic and playful. Designer Richard Brett drew inspiration from regional history and folklore, embellished and distorted 'like the stories told at the bar'. Tables are shelves. Cutlery becomes coat hooks. Hats are lights. The trunk of a silver birch tears through each of the seven bedrooms. You'll find a barber's chair in place of a chaise-longue. The food is gamey and locally sourced, with proper portions, and the chef brings London restaurant pedigree, having worked at J Sheekey and The Ivy. Leave all pretentions by the door, dress for a romp in the country and prepare to be dragged into a fierce debate on the relative merits of badger lamping.
Address: High St, Ticehurst, Wadhurst TN5 7AS
Price: double rooms from £135
The Gunton Arms, Thorpe Market, Norfolk
There's no backdrop like a 1,000-acre deer park. Especially in flat and eerie Norfolk, where the twilight dawdles as the mists engulf the estate. Part gallery, part B&B, this is as close as you'll come to climbing inside the minds of decorator and textile collector Robert Kime and owner Ivor Braka, a Chelsea art dealer. There are mounted tarantulas jostling for wall space with lewd Emin plates, and neon lights spell out 'I said don't practise on me' while a Paula Rego female vomits. All this set against gouache wallpaper, Persian carpets, and a family seat's worth of antiques sourced by dealer Robert Young. The brand new paintwork - purposefully aged and discoloured to add a sense of antiquity - has had guests complaining that the place is dirty, to the mirth of the manager. The look is old money drenched in big-hitting art. It could so easily be hipper than thou, and yet it's relaxed and unpretentious. The bar is propped up by muddy-booted grooms and chino-clad old duffers, and even mid-week the restaurant is buzzing. Chef Stuart Tattersall (ex-Mark Hix) mans the gaping 16th-century French open fireplace, knocking out superlative steaks that draw people from all along the north Norfolk coast.
Address: The Gunton Arms, Norwich NR11 8TZ
Price: double rooms from £95
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The Crown, Amersham, Buckinghamshire
The Crown is the sort of place you can't believe someone hasn't told you about already. A red-brick, oak-beamed, Elizabethan wonky wonder with sharp-as-a-tack rooms, just three quarters of an hour from central London on the Metropolitan Line. Designer Ilse Crawford has brought a fresh aesthetic to this traditional coaching inn with her signature natural tones. Rooms, with pitched ceilings, underfloor heating, handmade rush matting and enough wardrobe space for a two-week stay, have a modern Scandi vibe. The ones off the courtyard are deliciously big with four-posters and deep mattresses. There are also smaller but just as smart rooms in the main building. Little quirks include vintage Penguin Classics on the bedside table, shearling rugs thrown over rocking chairs, and home-made jams at breakfast. The food is the main event, with thoughtfully sourced ingredients such as Dedham Vale beef. Afterwards, get a pint of Rebellion ale and kick back by the fire, turn your hand to a game of pétanque or wander down Old Amersham High Street and window-shop for antiques. Breakfast is a treat, too; wake up to a trestle table brimming with yoghurts, mueslis and pitchers of fresh juices, followed by generous plates of eggs Benedict. This is how to get out of town without the dastardly motorway mission.
Address: 16 High St, Amersham HP7 0DH
Price: double rooms from £120