ENGLAND'S BEST PUBS
The General Tarleton, Yorkshire Dales
Chef Tommy Banks, a celebrated Yorkshire chef, is renowned 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 serving drinks at his family’s establishment before graduating to 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. First up is the eight-bedroom General Tarleton in the village of Ferrensby, near Harrogate. Food, naturally, is top notch, with polished takes on pub classics made with local produce – ideal sustenance for riverside strolls and into the Nidd Gorge, a scenic local area.
The Bat and Ball, Oxfordshire Countryside
It’s dogs by the fire and dog collars at the bar at this charming pub in the village of Cuddesdon, best known for its clergy college. It was opened at the start of the year by the proprietors of the Lamb Inn in nearby Little Milton, and the chefs 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 menu items elevate classic pub food and dial them up with premium local produce. Five guest rooms have walls painted in rich autumnal shades to match the nearby landscape, which is nestled between the Cotswolds and Chilterns.
King’s Arms, Lake District
This family-owned pub, which reopened 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 slate floors at the King’s Arms too, which originates in the 1600s. At the dark-wood 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 enjoying after a stomp up nearby Latterbarrow fell.
The Wellington at Boscastle, Cornish Coast
Affectionately called The Welly, this historic coaching house overlooks Boscastle Harbor on Cornwall’s dramatic north coast. St Austell Brewery recently invested heavily renovating it, and the results are evident in the snug dining areas, intimate corners and stained-glass windows. The pick of the bedrooms are the turret suites with freestanding baths, but all 14 come with local art on the walls and OS maps and guidebooks for the coast path for walks. The trail passes nearby: heading west to Tintagel Castle, birthplace of King Arthur according to legend, or east towards Pentargon waterfall. After a coastal hike, there’s pints of local ale by the fire and plates of fish and chips to look forward to, made with fresh local fish in ale batter.
The Woolpack Inn, Hampshire Countryside
Recently renovated by influential interior designer Nina Campbell, this country pub is the social hub in the small village of Totford in peaceful 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, the team also donates 20% of the harvest to local charities and 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.
Fleur de Lys Inn, Dorset Countryside
Hospitality group Chickpea has nailed the modern country pubs with rooms formula – great food, welcoming bar and competitive rates for overnighters. The latest addition to the fold is the Fleur de Lys, a 17th-century inn in the village of Cranbourne. Author Thomas Hardy was a regular guest 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, the nine bedrooms are decorated in muted colours. Walking routes loop around Cranborne Estate, with dishes such as Brixham sea bass, venison barnsley chop and toffee pudding to look forward to back at the pub afterwards.
The Penny Bun, North Yorkshire
Named after a mushroom found in local woods, the Penny Bun is a departure from your traditional boozer. With its earthen walls and earth-toned palette, 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 Denton Reserve, a 2,500-acre 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 gnocchi with roasted garden beetroots. The serene decor particularly suits the five bedrooms (the best room comes with a freestanding bath), with plush beds to sink into after walks across Ilkley Moor, just steps away.
Ship Inn, Norfolk Coast
Recently, The Peyton sisters rebooted this historic coastal inn with nine beamed bedrooms in the village of Brancaster. The cooking here has Mediterranean influences, and while menus have one eye on the sea (less than a mile’s walk away), local game is the highlight in autumn. On Sundays, expect whole pot-roasted venison shoulders served with foraged mushrooms instead of traditional meats, while in the bar relax by the fireplace and enjoy a mangalitza pork sausage 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 salt marshes.
Leicester Arms Inn, Kent Countryside
Across the road from the entrance to Penshurst Place, this historic 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 plush armchairs by the fire in the bar, authentic Kent ales from nearby Larkins, and superior cuisine in the dining room. The menu focuses on local produce, with lamb scotch egg and oysters from Whitstable, while the 11 botanically named bedrooms are decorated in an attractive heritage style. Four of them come with rolltop baths for post-walk soaks after a stroll around the Penshurst Estate past the River Medway, lakes and ancient oaks.
The Swan, West Sussex
The lengthy renovation of this historic inn in Fittleworth on the edge of the South Downs was worth the wait. Period details from its 14th-century roots mix with modern comfort in the bar, restaurant and 12 beautifully designed rooms – though it remains “proudly old fashioned”, says owner Angus Davies. Dining in the wood-paneled, painting-lined dining room draw on local seasonal ingredients (foraged ceps and fresh plum pudding on our visit) and generous breakfasts are served in a barn in the gardens. Historic guestbooks are fascinating: notable guests include JMW Turner, John Constable and Rudyard Kipling. Nearby activities abound, from browsing antiques in local villages to walks on the downs, Petworth House and Arundel castle.
The Nevill Arms, Leicestershire Countryside
With its honeyed hamlets, pretty market towns and undulating landscape, the Welland valley is in a region sometimes referred to as the Notswolds (like the Cotswolds but more affordable). The Nevill Arms in the village of Medbourne was revamped in 2023, with 10 rooms (including four-posters) spread between the inn and its converted stables – and next year they’ll add a three-bedroom stone cottage next door too. On the food front, beef, pork and lamb are sourced from the owner’s farm, while in the inky blue-painted bar there’s a rotating line up of Langton ales on tap – the favorite of which is an amber ale, Inclined Plane, named after the lift at nearby Foxton Locks.
New Inn Yealand, Lancashire
New owners Ben and Lauren Sandiford took on the running of this seven-room inn in April. Ben applied his culinary skills 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 log burner. The bar attracts locals sipping on
