ENGLAND
The General Tarleton, Yorkshire Dales
Tommy Banks, a celebrated Yorkshire chef, is best known for his award-winning restaurant Black Swan at Oldstead, but he’s no stranger to pubs. In fact, the Black Swan started out as one, with Banks serving drinks at his family’s establishment before moving into the kitchen. Recently, he opened the Abbey Inn in Byland, and he has just started a hospitality arm focused on reviving other pubs across the UK. First up is the eight-bedroom General Tarleton in the village of Ferrensby, near Harrogate. The cuisine is exceptional, with refined versions of traditional pub dishes made with regional ingredients – ideal sustenance for riverside strolls and into the Nidd Gorge, a local beauty spot.
Bat and Ball Inn, Oxfordshire
It’s dogs by the fire and clergy at the bar at this quaint inn in the village of Cuddesdon, famous for its theological college. It was opened at the start of the year by the proprietors of the Lamb Inn in nearby Little Milton, and the culinary team at both locations cut their teeth at two-Michelin-star Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons down the road. The Bat and Ball is the more casual of the pair – it even features a dartboard – and dishes take typical pub fare and dial them up with premium local produce. The five bedrooms have walls painted in deep fall colors to match the nearby landscape, which is nestled between the Cotswolds and Chilterns.
King’s Arms, Lake District
This independently run inn, which reopened at the end of August, is at the heart of the Lakeland village of Hawkshead, around the corner from the Beatrix Potter gallery and the Hawkshead Grammar School museum, where the poet Wordsworth carved his name into his desk. It’s rich in history in oak beams and slate floors at the King’s Arms too, which dates back to the 17th century. Behind the dark-wood panelled bar is a roster of local beers including Coniston Old Man Ale and Cumbrian Ales Loweswater Gold, while the food leans towards classic with Cumberland scotch eggs and beef wellington. Just the thing to be tucking into after a hike up nearby Latterbarrow fell.
Wellington Hotel, Cornwall
Affectionately called The Welly, this centuries-old coaching inn overlooks Boscastle Harbor on Cornwall’s dramatic north coast. A local brewery recently splashed millions renovating it, and the results are evident in the snug dining areas, intimate corners and stained glass panelling. The pick of the bedrooms are the two in the pub’s turret with freestanding baths, but all 14 come with artwork by local artists and OS maps and guidebooks for the coast path for walks. The path runs right outside: heading west to Tintagel Castle, legendary birthplace of King Arthur as per myth, or east towards Pentargon waterfall. Post-hike, there’s pints of local ale by the fire and servings of fish and chips to look forward to, made with local catch in Gem Ale batter.
Woolpack Inn, Hampshire Countryside
Recently renovated by influential interior designer Nina Campbell, this rural inn is the social hub in the small village of Totford in peaceful Candover Valley. It is surrounded by fields and woodlands, so head chef Luke Stradling has abundant regional ingredients to draw on – complemented by the pub’s large kitchen garden, currently growing 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 community charities and shelters. Upstairs, eight bedrooms are named after game birds, but it’s fly fishing the local main attraction – casting for trout in the famous chalk stream of the River Itchen.
The Fleur de Lys, Dorset Countryside
Hospitality group Chickpea has mastered the contemporary inns with accommodation formula – great food, friendly bar and keen prices for overnighters. The latest addition to the fold is the Fleur de Lys, a 17th-century inn in the village of Cranbourne. The novelist Thomas Hardy was a frequent visitor here and makes reference to it in his novel Tess. The revamp reflects its historical character: hops drape over the large open fireplace, candles flicker on tables and, upstairs, nine rooms are decorated in muted colours. Trails loop around Cranborne Manor, with dishes such as Brixham bass, venison barnsley chop and sticky toffee pudding to look forward to back at the pub afterwards.
The Penny Bun, Yorkshire Dales
Named after a mushroom found in local woods, Penny Bun is a departure from your traditional boozer. With its clay-plastered walls and palette of earthy browns, the look is more wabi-sabi minimalism than brass beer pumps. 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 deep beds to sink into after hikes on Ilkley Moor, right outside the front door.
Ship Inn, Norfolk Coast
Recently, Sisters Siobhan and Caitriona Peyton revitalized this historic coastal inn with nine beamed bedrooms in the village of Brancaster. The cuisine has a light Mediterranean touch, and while menus have a focus on seafood (a short walk from the coast), game from local estates is the highlight in autumn. For Sunday lunch, expect whole pot-roasted venison shoulders served with local wild 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 Moon Gazer Ale. Outside, the vast skies look particularly stunning at this time of year – watch for flocks of pink-footed geese – and trails cut through dunes and salt marshes.
The Leicester Arms, Kent
Across the road from the entrance to medieval Penshurst Place and Gardens, this Grade II-listed pub is looking prettier than ever after a £1.2m revamp last year. It’s easy to see why it scooped Kent’s county prize at the national awards: there are plush 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 oysters from Whitstable, while 11 nature-themed rooms are decorated in a classic style. Four of them come with clawfoot tubs for soaking after walks after a ramble around the Penshurst Estate past the River Medway, lakes and ancient oaks.
The Swan, Sussex Countryside
The lengthy renovation of this historic inn in Fittleworth on the South Downs was well worth it. Period details from its medieval origins mix with modern comfort in the bar, restaurant and 12 beautifully designed rooms – though it remains traditional, says owner Angus Davies. Meals served in the wood-panelled, painting-lined dining room utilize seasonal local produce (wild mushrooms and plum pudding on our visit) and lavish breakfasts are served in the barn in the gardens. Historic guestbooks are interesting: famous visitors include JMW Turner, John Constable and Rudyard Kipling. Nearby activities abound, from browsing antiques in local villages to downland walks, Petworth House and Arundel Castle.
Nevill Arms Inn, Leicestershire Countryside
With its picturesque villages, pretty market towns and undulating landscape, Welland Valley is in a part of the country sometimes referred to as the Notswolds (like the Cotswolds but more affordable). The Nevill Arms in the village of Medbourne was refurbished in 2023, with 10 bedrooms (including four-posters) spread between the inn and former stables – and soon they’ll add a stone cottage next door too. Culinarily, meats are reared on the owner’s farm, while in the inky blue-painted bar there’s a changing selection of Langton Brewery beers on tap – the favorite of which is an amber ale, Inclined Plane, named after the canal lift at nearby Foxton Locks.
New Inn, Lancashire Countryside
New owners Ben and Lauren Sandiford assumed the running of this seven-bedroom village inn in April. Ben brought his chef experience to the kitchen, which now produces elevated comfort dishes (shepherd's pie with mashed potatoes and cheese or beef and ale suet pudding) to be eaten in the rustic dining area beside the fireplace. The bar is filled with locals sipping on
