ENGLAND'S BEST PUBS
General Tarleton Inn, Yorkshire Dales
Chef Tommy Banks, a celebrated Yorkshire chef, is best known for the Michelin-starred restaurant the Black Swan at Oldstead, and he also has deep pub roots. Actually, the Black Swan started out as one, with Banks working behind the bar at his family’s establishment before moving into the kitchen. Recently, he launched Abbey Inn in Byland, and he has just started a hospitality arm dedicated to restoring other pubs across the UK. The first project is General Tarleton with eight rooms in the village of Ferrensby, near Harrogate. Food, naturally, is top notch, with refined versions of traditional pub dishes made with local produce – ideal sustenance for riverside strolls and into Nidd Gorge, a scenic local area.
Bat and Ball Inn, Oxfordshire
Dogs lounge by the fireplace and clergy 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 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. This pub is the more relaxed option – it even features a dartboard – and menu items elevate classic pub food and enhance them with premium local produce. The five bedrooms have walls painted in deep fall colors to match the surrounding countryside, which is nestled between the Cotswolds and Chilterns.
Kings Arms Inn, Lakeland
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 the poet Wordsworth etched his name into his desk. It’s rich in history in the 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 tucking into after a hike up nearby Latterbarrow fell.
Wellington Hotel, Cornish Coast
Affectionately called The Welly, this centuries-old coaching inn overlooks Boscastle harbour on Cornwall’s dramatic north coast. A local brewery recently invested heavily renovating it, and it shows in the cosy dining rooms, intimate corners and stained-glass windows. The best rooms are the two in the pub’s turret with freestanding baths, but every room come with artwork by local artists and OS 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 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.
The Woolpack Inn, Hampshire
Fresh from a makeover by influential interior designer Nina Campbell, this rural inn is the social hub in the tiny hamlet of Totford in peaceful Candover Valley. It is surrounded by fields and woodlands, so head chef Luke Stradling has plenty of local produce to draw on – complemented by the pub’s large kitchen garden, right now filled with pumpkin, celeriac and winter leaves. In addition to providing almost all the vegetables on the menu, staff also contribute 20% of the harvest to local charities and homeless shelters. Upstairs, eight guest rooms 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.
The Fleur de Lys, Dorset
Pub and restaurant firm Chickpea has nailed the contemporary inns with accommodation formula – great food, friendly bar and competitive rates for overnighters. The latest addition to the fold is the Fleur de Lys, a historic inn in the village of Cranbourne. The novelist Thomas Hardy was a regular guest here and references it in Tess of the D’Urbervilles. The renovation reflects its historical character: hops drape over the large open fireplace, candles glow on tables and, upstairs, nine rooms are decorated in subdued tones. Walking routes loop around Cranborne Estate, 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
Inspired by a fungus found in local woods, the Penny Bun is a break from conventional pubs. With its earthen walls and palette of earthy browns, the look is more wabi-sabi minimalism than traditional pub fixtures. Between Ilkley and Otley in the Yorkshire Dales, the recently opened pub is part of Denton Reserve, a 1,012-hectare estate undergoing a sustainably led transformation, focusing on carbon capture and sustainable agriculture. It supplies many of the ingredients found on the menu at the Penny Bun, such as Tamworth pork croquette salad or beetroot gnocchi. The calming aesthetic particularly suits the five rooms (the best room comes with a freestanding bath), with deep beds to sink into after walks across Ilkley Moor, just steps away.
Ship Inn, Norfolk Coast
Recently, Sisters Siobhan and Caitriona Peyton rebooted this historic coastal inn with nine beamed bedrooms in the village of Brancaster. The cooking here 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 foraged mushrooms instead of the usual chicken or beef, while in the front bar relax by the fireplace and tuck into a pork roll or monkfish with a pint of local ale. Outside, Norfolk’s big skies look particularly stunning at this time of year – look out for flocks of migrating pink-footed geese – and walks cut through dunes and marshes.
Leicester Arms Inn, Kent Countryside
Opposite from the entrance to medieval Penshurst Place and Gardens, this historic pub is looking prettier than ever after a major renovation last year. It’s easy to see why it won Kent’s county prize at the national awards: there are deep leather armchairs by the fire in the bar, real Kentish ales from nearby Larkins, and cut-above cooking 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 stroll around the Penshurst Estate past the River Medway, lakes and giant oak trees.
Swan Inn, Sussex Countryside
The lengthy renovation of this historic inn in Fittleworth on the edge of the South Downs was worth the wait. Original features from its medieval origins mix with modern comfort in the bar, restaurant and 12 beautifully designed rooms – though it remains “proudly old fashioned”, says owner Angus Davies. Meals served in the wood-panelled, painting-lined dining room utilize local seasonal ingredients (wild mushrooms and plum pudding on our visit) and generous breakfasts are served in the barn in the pretty gardens. Historic guestbooks are interesting: notable guests include JMW Turner, John Constable and Rudyard Kipling. Nearby activities abound, from antique shopping in local villages to downland walks, Petworth House and Arundel castle.
The Nevill Arms, Leicestershire
With its honeyed hamlets, 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 without the price tag). Nevill Arms in the village of Medbourne was revamped in 2023, with 10 bedrooms (some with four-poster beds) spread between the pub and former stables – and soon they’ll add a three-bedroom stone cottage next door too. Culinarily, beef, pork and lamb are sourced from the owner’s farm, while in the inky blue-painted bar there’s a changing selection of Langton Brewery beers on tap – the most popular of which is an amber bitter, 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 brought his chef experience to the kitchen, which now produces elevated comfort dishes (shepherd’s pie with mash and ewe’s cheese crumb or beef pudding) to be eaten in the rustic dining area beside the log burner. The bar is filled with locals sipping on
