ENGLAND
General Tarleton Inn, Yorkshire Dales
Tommy Banks, a celebrated Yorkshire chef, is renowned for the Michelin-starred restaurant Black Swan at Oldstead, but he’s no stranger to pubs. Actually, the Black Swan originally operated as a pub, with Banks working behind the bar at his family’s establishment before moving into the kitchen. Recently, he launched the Abbey Inn in Byland, and he has recently launched a hospitality arm dedicated to restoring other pubs across the UK. The first project is General Tarleton with eight rooms in Ferrensby village, near Harrogate. The cuisine is exceptional, with polished takes on pub classics made with local produce – ideal sustenance for walks along the river and into Nidd Gorge, a local beauty spot.
The Bat and Ball, Oxfordshire Countryside
It’s dogs by the fire and dog collars 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 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 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 nearby landscape, which is sandwiched between the Cotswolds and Chilterns.
Kings Arms Inn, Lake District
This independently run inn, which reopened at the end of August, is at the heart 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 carved his name into his desk. There’s plenty of history in oak beams and stone floors at the King’s Arms too, which dates back to the 17th century. 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. The perfect meal to be tucking into after a hike up nearby Latterbarrow fell.
Wellington Hotel, Cornwall
Known affectionately as The Welly, this historic coaching house 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, snugs and stained glass panelling. The best rooms are the turret suites with standalone tubs, 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: heading west to Tintagel Castle, birthplace of King Arthur according to legend, or east towards 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 Gem Ale batter.
The Woolpack Inn, Hampshire Countryside
Recently renovated by influential interior designer Nina Campbell, this country pub is the social hub in the tiny hamlet 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, 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 local charities and homeless shelters. Upstairs, eight bedrooms are named after game birds, but fly fishing is the local main attraction – casting for trout in the famous chalk stream of the River Itchen.
The Fleur de Lys, Dorset Countryside
Pub and restaurant firm Chickpea has nailed the modern country pubs with rooms formula – excellent cuisine, welcoming bar and keen prices for overnighters. The latest addition to the fold is Fleur de Lys, a historic inn in the village of Cranbourne. The novelist Thomas Hardy was a regular guest here and makes reference to it in Tess of the D’Urbervilles. The revamp reflects its period charm: hops drape over the large open fireplace, candles glow on tables and, upstairs, the nine bedrooms are decorated in subdued tones. Trails loop around Cranborne Manor, with dishes such as Brixham sea bass, venison barnsley chop and toffee pudding to look forward to back at the pub afterwards.
Penny Bun Inn, Yorkshire Dales
Inspired by a fungus found in local woods, the Penny Bun is a break from conventional pubs. With its clay-plastered walls and earth-toned palette, the style is minimalist than brass beer pumps. Between Ilkley and Otley in the Yorkshire Dales, the new inn is part of the Denton Reserve, a 2,500-acre estate undergoing a sustainably led transformation, shifting to carbon sequestering and sustainable agriculture. 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 calming aesthetic particularly suits the five bedrooms (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
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 (less than a mile’s walk away), local game is the star turn 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 front bar settle in by the fire and tuck into a mangalitza pork sausage roll or monkfish with a pint of Moon Gazer Ale. Outside, the vast skies look especially arresting at this time of year – watch for flocks of pink-footed geese – and walks 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 more attractive than ever after a major renovation last year. It’s easy to see why it won Kent’s county prize at the 2025 National Bar and Pub 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 highlights local produce, with lamb scotch egg and Whitstable oysters, while the 11 botanically named bedrooms are decorated in an attractive heritage style. Four of them come with rolltop baths for soaking after walks after a ramble around the Penshurst Estate past River Medway, lakes and ancient oaks.
The Swan, West Sussex
The lengthy renovation of this Grade II-listed coaching inn in Fittleworth on the South Downs was worth the wait. Original features from its 14th-century roots mix with stylish comfort in the bar, restaurant and 12 elegant rooms – though it remains traditional, says the owner. Meals served in the wood-panelled, painting-lined dining room draw on seasonal local produce (wild mushrooms and fresh plum pudding on our visit) and generous breakfasts are served in the barn in the pretty gardens. The old visitor books are fascinating: 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 Countryside
With its honeyed hamlets, charming towns and undulating landscape, the Welland valley is in a part of the country sometimes referred to as the Notswolds (similar to the Cotswolds but without the price tag). The Nevill Arms in the village of Medbourne was revamped in 2023, with 10 bedrooms (including four-posters) spread between the pub and its converted stables – and next year 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 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 lift at nearby Foxton Locks.
New Inn, Lancashire
New owners Ben and Lauren Sandiford assumed the running of this seven-room inn in April. Ben applied his culinary skills to the kitchen, which now turns out classy comfort food (shepherd’s pie with mash and ewe’s cheese crumb or beef pudding) to be eaten in the beamed dining room beside the log burner. The bar is filled with locals sipping on
