ENGLAND'S BEST PUBS
The General Tarleton, Yorkshire Dales
Chef Tommy Banks, one of Yorkshire’s favourite foodie sons, is best known for his award-winning restaurant Black Swan at Oldstead, but he’s no stranger to pubs. Actually, the Black Swan started out as one, with Banks serving drinks at his family’s establishment before graduating to the kitchen. In 2023, he opened Abbey Inn in Byland, and he has recently launched a hospitality arm focused on reviving other pubs across the UK. The first project is General Tarleton with eight rooms in Ferrensby village, near Harrogate. The cuisine is exceptional, with polished takes on pub classics made with local produce – the perfect fuel for walks along the river and into the Nidd Gorge, a local beauty spot.
The Bat and Ball, Oxfordshire
Dogs lounge by the fireplace and dog collars at the bar at this charming pub in the village of Cuddesdon, famous for its theological college. It was opened at the start of the year by the proprietors of Lamb Inn in nearby Little Milton, and the chefs at both locations cut their teeth at the esteemed Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons down the road. This pub is the more relaxed option – there’s even a dart board – and dishes take typical pub fare and enhance them with premium local produce. The five bedrooms have walls painted in rich autumnal shades to match the nearby landscape, which is nestled between the Cotswolds and Chilterns.
Kings Arms Inn, Lake District
This independently run inn, which relaunched at the end of August, is at the heart of the Lakeland village of Hawkshead, just a short walk from the Beatrix Potter gallery and the Hawkshead Grammar School museum, where a young William Wordsworth carved his name into his desk. There’s plenty of history in oak beams and stone floors at the King’s Arms too, which originates in the 1600s. Behind the dark-wood panelled bar is a roster of local beers including Coniston Old Man Ale and Cumbrian Ales Loweswater Gold, while the menu focuses on classics with Cumberland scotch eggs and beef wellington. Just the thing to be enjoying after a hike up nearby Latterbarrow fell.
The Wellington at Boscastle, Cornwall
Known affectionately as The Welly, this centuries-old coaching inn overlooks Boscastle harbour on the rugged north Cornwall coast. St Austell Brewery recently invested heavily renovating it, and it shows in the cosy dining rooms, intimate corners and stained-glass windows. The pick of the bedrooms are the two in the pub’s turret with standalone tubs, but every room come with artwork by local artists and OS maps and a South West Coast Path national trail book for walks. The path runs right outside: west to Tintagel Castle, birthplace of King Arthur according to legend, or east towards Pentargon waterfall. Post-hike, there’s pints of Proper Job by the fire and plates of fish and chips to look forward to, made with fresh local fish in ale batter.
Woolpack Inn, Hampshire
Fresh from a makeover by renowned designer Nina Campbell, this rural inn is the centre of life in the small village of Totford in peaceful Candover Valley. Set amid fields and forests, so head chef Luke Stradling has plenty of local produce to draw on – supplemented by the pub’s sizeable vegetable garden, right now filled with pumpkin, celeriac and winter leaves. In addition to providing almost all the vegetables on the menu, the team also donates 20% of the harvest to local charities and homeless shelters. Upstairs, eight bedrooms are named after game birds, but fly fishing is the local main attraction – casting for trout in the world renowned chalk stream of the River Itchen.
Fleur de Lys Inn, Dorset Countryside
Pub and restaurant firm Chickpea has mastered the modern country pubs with rooms formula – great food, welcoming bar and keen prices for overnighters. The latest addition to the fold is the Fleur de Lys, a historic inn in the village of Cranbourne. Author Thomas Hardy was a frequent visitor here and references it in his novel Tess. The renovation reflects its period charm: hops hang over the large open fireplace, candles glow on tables and, upstairs, nine rooms are decorated in subdued tones. Trails loop around Cranborne Manor, with dishes such as Brixham sea bass, venison barnsley chop and toffee pudding to look forward to back at the pub afterwards.
Penny Bun Inn, North Yorkshire
Named after a mushroom found in local woods, the Penny Bun is a break from conventional pubs. With its clay-plastered walls and palette of earthy browns, the style is minimalist than traditional pub fixtures. Located between Ilkley and Otley in the Yorkshire Dales, the recently opened pub is part of the Denton Reserve, a 2,500-acre estate undergoing an eco-friendly overhaul, shifting to carbon sequestering and sustainable agriculture. It supplies many of the ingredients found on the menu at the Penny Bun, such as Tamworth pork croquette salad or gnocchi with roasted garden beetroots. The calming aesthetic particularly suits the five rooms (the plum one comes with a standalone tub), with plush beds to sink into after hikes on Ilkley Moor, right outside the front door.
The Ship, Norfolk Coast
Recently, The Peyton sisters rebooted this seaside inn with nine rustic rooms in the village of Brancaster. The cuisine has Mediterranean influences, and while menus have one eye on the sea (a short walk from the coast), local game is the star turn in autumn. On Sundays, expect roasted venison served with foraged mushrooms instead of the usual chicken or beef, while in the bar relax by the fireplace and tuck into a mangalitza pork sausage roll or monkfish with a pint of local ale. Outside, the vast skies look especially arresting at this time of year – watch for flocks of migrating pink-footed geese – and walks cut through dunes and salt marshes.
Leicester Arms Inn, Kent Countryside
Across the road from the entrance to Penshurst Place, this Grade II-listed pub is looking prettier than ever after a £1.2m revamp last year. No wonder it won Kent’s county prize at the national awards: there are deep leather armchairs by the fire in the bar, authentic Kent ales from a local brewery, and superior cuisine in the dining room. The menu highlights local produce, with Kent lamb scotch egg and Whitstable oysters, while 11 nature-themed rooms are decorated in a classic style. Four of them come with clawfoot tubs for post-walk soaks after a ramble around the Penshurst Estate past the River Medway, lakes and ancient oaks.
Swan Inn, Sussex Countryside
The lengthy renovation of this historic inn in Fittleworth on the South Downs was well worth it. Original features from its 14th-century roots mix with stylish comfort in the bar, restaurant and 12 elegant rooms – though it remains “proudly old fashioned”, says owner Angus Davies. Dining in the wood-paneled, art-adorned dining room draw on seasonal local produce (wild mushrooms and plum pudding on our visit) and generous breakfasts are served in a barn in the pretty gardens. The old visitor books are interesting: notable guests include JMW Turner, John Constable and Rudyard Kipling. Nearby activities abound, from antique shopping in local villages to walks on the downs, Petworth House and Arundel castle.
The Nevill Arms, Leicestershire
With its picturesque villages, pretty market towns and rolling countryside, the Welland valley is in a region sometimes referred to as the Notswolds (similar to the Cotswolds but without the price tag). The Nevill Arms in the village of Medbourne was revamped in 2023, with 10 rooms (some with four-poster beds) spread between the inn and former stables – and soon they’ll add a stone cottage next door too. On the food front, beef, pork and lamb are reared on the owner’s farm, while in the blue bar there’s a rotating line up of Langton Brewery beers on tap – the most popular of which is an amber ale, Inclined Plane, named after the lift at nearby Foxton Locks.
New Inn, Lancashire
Young couple Ben and Lauren Sandiford took on the running of this seven-bedroom village inn in April. Ben applied his culinary skills to the kitchen, which now produces classy comfort food (shepherd’s pie with mash and ewe’s cheese crumb or beef and ale suet pudding) to be eaten in the beamed dining room beside the log burner. The bar is filled with locals sipping on
