ENGLAND'S BEST PUBS
General Tarleton Inn, North Yorkshire
Chef Tommy Banks, a celebrated Yorkshire chef, is most famous for his award-winning restaurant Black Swan at Oldstead, and he also has deep pub roots. In fact, the Black Swan started out as one, with Banks working behind the bar at his family’s establishment before graduating to the kitchen. Recently, he opened the Abbey Inn in Byland, and he has recently launched a hospitality arm dedicated to restoring other pubs across the UK. First up is General Tarleton with eight rooms in the village of Ferrensby, near Harrogate. The cuisine is exceptional, with polished takes on pub classics made with regional ingredients – the perfect fuel for walks along the river and into the Nidd Gorge, a scenic local area.
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 launched 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 two-Michelin-star 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 dial them up with carefully sourced local ingredients. Five guest rooms have walls painted in rich autumnal shades to match the surrounding countryside, which is sandwiched between the Cotswolds and Chilterns.
King’s Arms, Lake District
This independently run inn, which reopened at the end of August, is at the center of the Lakeland village of Hawkshead, just a short walk from Beatrix Potter Gallery and the Hawkshead Grammar School museum, where a young William Wordsworth etched his name into his desk. There’s plenty of 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 food leans towards classic with Cumberland scotch eggs and beef wellington. The perfect meal to be enjoying after a stomp 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. St Austell Brewery recently invested heavily renovating it, and the results are evident in the snug dining areas, intimate corners and stained glass panelling. The best rooms are the turret suites with freestanding baths, but every room come with local art on the walls and OS maps and guidebooks for the coast path 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 Proper Job by the fire and servings of fish and chips to look forward to, made with fresh local fish in Gem Ale batter.
The Woolpack Inn, Hampshire Countryside
Fresh from a makeover by renowned 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 chef Luke Stradling has abundant regional ingredients to draw on – supplemented by the pub’s large kitchen garden, currently growing 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 community charities and shelters. Upstairs, eight guest rooms are themed after game birds, but it’s fly fishing the local main attraction – angling for trout in the famous chalk stream of the River Itchen.
Fleur de Lys Inn, Dorset Countryside
Pub and restaurant firm Chickpea has mastered the contemporary inns with accommodation formula – great food, friendly bar and competitive rates for overnighters. The newest member to the fold is the Fleur de Lys, a historic inn in the village of Cranbourne. The novelist Thomas Hardy was a frequent visitor here and references it in Tess of the D’Urbervilles. 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 muted colours. Walking routes loop around Cranborne Estate, with dishes such as Brixham bass, venison chop and sticky toffee pudding to look forward to back at the pub afterwards.
Penny Bun Inn, Yorkshire Dales
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 style is minimalist than traditional pub fixtures. Located between Ilkley and Otley in the Yorkshire Dales, the recently opened pub is part of Denton Reserve, a 2,500-acre estate undergoing a sustainably led transformation, shifting to carbon sequestering and regenerative farming. It provides 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 standalone tub), with deep beds to sink into after walks across Ilkley Moor, right outside the front door.
The Ship, Norfolk Coast
Recently, Sisters Siobhan and Caitriona Peyton rebooted this seaside 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 (less than a mile’s walk away), game from local estates is the highlight in autumn. On Sundays, expect whole pot-roasted venison shoulders served with foraged mushrooms instead of the usual chicken or beef, while in the front bar settle in by the fire and enjoy a mangalitza pork sausage 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 trails cut through dunes and marshes.
The Leicester Arms, Kent
Opposite from the entrance to Penshurst Place, this Grade II-listed pub is more attractive than ever after a £1.2m revamp last year. No wonder it scooped 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 superior cuisine in the dining room. The menu focuses on local produce, with lamb scotch egg and oysters from Whitstable, while 11 nature-themed rooms are decorated in an attractive heritage style. Four rooms come with clawfoot tubs for soaking after walks after a ramble around the Penshurst Estate past River Medway, lakes and ancient oaks.
Swan Inn, West Sussex
The two-and-a-half year refurbishment of this Grade II-listed coaching inn in Fittleworth on the South Downs was well worth it. Period details from its 14th-century roots mix with stylish comfort in the bar, restaurant and 12 beautifully designed rooms – though it remains traditional, says the owner. Dining in the wood-paneled, painting-lined dining room utilize seasonal local produce (wild mushrooms and fresh plum pudding on our visit) and generous breakfasts are served in a barn in the gardens. The old visitor books are fascinating: famous visitors 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, charming towns and undulating landscape, the 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 (including four-posters) spread between the pub and former stables – and next year they’ll add a three-bedroom stone cottage next door too. Culinarily, meats 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 ale, Inclined Plane, named after the canal lift at nearby Foxton Locks.
New Inn Yealand, 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 turns out elevated comfort dishes (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 fireplace. The bar attracts locals sipping on
