ENGLAND'S BEST PUBS
The General Tarleton, North Yorkshire
Tommy Banks, a celebrated Yorkshire chef, is best known for his award-winning restaurant the Black Swan at Oldstead, but he’s no stranger to pubs. In fact, the Black Swan originally operated as a pub, with Banks serving drinks at his family’s establishment before graduating to the kitchen. Recently, he launched the Abbey Inn in Byland, and he has just started a hospitality arm dedicated to restoring 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 polished takes on pub classics made with regional ingredients – ideal sustenance for riverside strolls and into the Nidd Gorge, a scenic local area.
The Bat and Ball, Oxfordshire Countryside
Dogs lounge by the fireplace and clergy at the bar at this quaint inn in the village of Cuddesdon, best known for its clergy college. It was opened at the start of the year by the owners 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. The Bat and Ball is the more casual of the pair – there’s even a dart board – and dishes take typical pub fare and enhance them with premium local produce. Five guest rooms have walls painted in deep fall colors to match the surrounding countryside, which is sandwiched between the Cotswolds and Chilterns.
Kings Arms Inn, Lake District
This family-owned pub, which relaunched at the end of August, is at the heart of the Lakeland village of Hawkshead, around the corner from the Beatrix Potter gallery and Hawkshead Grammar School Museum, where the poet Wordsworth etched his name into his desk. It’s rich in history in the oak beams and slate floors at the King’s Arms too, which originates in the 1600s. Behind the dark-wood panelled bar is a selection of regional ales 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 tucking into after a stomp up nearby Latterbarrow fell.
The Wellington at Boscastle, Cornish Coast
Known affectionately as The Welly, this centuries-old coaching inn overlooks Boscastle harbour on Cornwall’s dramatic north coast. St Austell Brewery recently splashed millions renovating it, and the results are evident in the cosy dining rooms, intimate corners and stained-glass windows. The pick of the bedrooms are the turret suites with freestanding baths, but every room come with artwork by local artists and ordnance survey maps and a South West Coast Path national trail book for walks. The trail passes nearby: west to Tintagel Castle, birthplace of King Arthur as per myth, or round past Pentargon waterfall. Post-hike, there’s pints of local ale by the fire and plates of fish and chips to look forward to, made with local catch in ale batter.
Woolpack Inn, Hampshire
Fresh from a makeover by influential interior designer Nina Campbell, this country pub is the centre of life in the small village of Totford in the tranquil Candover valley. Set amid fields and forests, so head chef Luke Stradling has abundant regional ingredients to draw on – complemented by the pub’s sizeable vegetable garden, right now filled with pumpkin, celeriac and winter leaves. As well as supplying almost all the vegetables on the menu, staff also contribute 20% of the harvest to community charities and homeless shelters. Upstairs, eight bedrooms are themed after game birds, but fly fishing is the local star draw – angling for trout in the world renowned chalk stream of the River Itchen.
The Fleur de Lys, Dorset Countryside
Pub and restaurant firm Chickpea has mastered the modern country pubs with rooms formula – excellent cuisine, friendly bar and competitive rates for overnighters. The newest member to the fold is 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 period charm: hops drape over the large open fireplace, candles flicker on tables and, upstairs, the nine bedrooms are decorated in subdued tones. Walking routes loop around Cranborne Manor, with dishes such as Brixham bass, venison chop and toffee pudding to look forward to back at the pub afterwards.
Penny Bun Inn, Yorkshire Dales
Named after a mushroom found in local woods, Penny Bun is a break from conventional pubs. With its clay-plastered walls and palette of earthy browns, the style is minimalist than brass beer pumps. Located between Ilkley and Otley in the Yorkshire Dales, the recently opened pub is part of Denton Reserve, a 1,012-hectare estate undergoing an eco-friendly overhaul, focusing on carbon capture and regenerative farming. It supplies many of the ingredients found on the menu at the Penny Bun, such as pork croquette salad or beetroot gnocchi. The serene decor particularly suits the five bedrooms (the best room comes with a freestanding bath), with plush beds to sink into after hikes on Ilkley Moor, just steps away.
The Ship, 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 one eye on the sea (a short walk from the coast), game from local estates is the star turn in autumn. On Sundays, expect whole pot-roasted venison shoulders served with local wild mushrooms instead of traditional meats, while in the bar settle in by the fire and tuck into a pork roll or monkfish scampi with a pint of local ale. Outside, the vast skies look especially arresting at this time of year – look out for flocks of pink-footed geese – and walks cut through dunes and marshes.
Leicester Arms Inn, Kent Countryside
Across the road from the entrance to Penshurst Place, this Grade II-listed pub is more attractive than ever after a major renovation last year. No wonder it won Kent’s county prize at the national awards: there are plush armchairs by the fire in the bar, real Kentish ales from nearby Larkins, and superior cuisine in the dining room. The menu highlights local produce, with lamb scotch egg and oysters from Whitstable, while the 11 botanically named bedrooms are decorated in a classic style. Four of them come with rolltop baths for soaking after walks after a ramble around the Penshurst Estate past the River Medway, lakes and giant oak trees.
The Swan, Sussex Countryside
The two-and-a-half year refurbishment of this Grade II-listed coaching inn in Fittleworth on the edge of the South Downs was well worth it. Period details from its medieval origins 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 local seasonal ingredients (foraged ceps and plum pudding on our visit) and lavish 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 browsing antiques in local villages to downland walks, Petworth House and Arundel Castle.
Nevill Arms Inn, Leicestershire Countryside
With its honeyed hamlets, charming towns and undulating landscape, Welland Valley is in a region sometimes referred to as the Notswolds (similar to the Cotswolds but more affordable). Nevill Arms in the village of Medbourne was refurbished in 2023, with 10 rooms (some with four-poster beds) spread between the inn and former stables – and next year they’ll add a stone cottage next door too. Culinarily, meats 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 bitter, Inclined Plane, named after the canal lift at nearby Foxton Locks.
New Inn, Lancashire
Young couple 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 classy comfort food (shepherd’s pie with mashed potatoes and cheese or beef pudding) to be eaten in the beamed dining room beside the log burner. The bar attracts locals sipping on
