🔗 Share this article

ENGLAND'S BEST PUBS

General Tarleton Inn, North Yorkshire

Chef Tommy Banks, one of Yorkshire’s favourite foodie sons, is renowned for his award-winning restaurant the 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 moving into the kitchen. Recently, he launched 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 the village of Ferrensby, near Harrogate. The cuisine is exceptional, with refined versions of traditional pub dishes made with regional ingredients – the perfect fuel for riverside strolls and into the 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, best known for its clergy college. It was opened at the start of the year by the proprietors of Lamb Inn in nearby Little Milton, and the chefs at both locations gained experience 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 carefully sourced local ingredients. Five guest rooms have walls painted in deep fall colors to match the nearby landscape, which is nestled between the Cotswolds and Chilterns.

King’s Arms, Lakeland

This independently run inn, which reopened 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 carved 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. At the dark-wood bar is a roster of local beers including Coniston Old Man Ale and Cumbrian Ales Loweswater Gold, while the food leans towards classic with Cumberland scotch eggs and beef wellington. Just the thing to be tucking into after a hike up nearby Latterbarrow fell.

The Wellington at Boscastle, 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 doing it up, and it shows in the cosy dining rooms, intimate corners and stained glass panelling. The pick of the bedrooms are the two in the pub’s turret with standalone tubs, but all 14 come with artwork by local artists 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 servings of fish and chips to look forward to, made with fresh local fish in ale batter.

The Woolpack Inn, Hampshire

Recently renovated 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 head chef Luke Stradling has plenty of local produce to draw on – supplemented by the pub’s large kitchen 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 named after game birds, but it’s fly fishing the local star draw – casting 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 – excellent cuisine, welcoming bar and competitive rates for overnighters. The newest member to the fold is Fleur de Lys, a historic 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 glow on tables and, upstairs, nine rooms are decorated in muted colours. Trails loop around Cranborne Estate, with dishes such as Brixham sea bass, venison barnsley chop and sticky toffee pudding to look forward to back at the pub afterwards.

The Penny Bun, Yorkshire Dales

Named after a mushroom found in local woods, Penny Bun is a break from conventional pubs. With its clay-plastered walls and earth-toned palette, the style is minimalist than traditional pub fixtures. 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, 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 serene decor particularly suits the five rooms (the best room comes with a standalone tub), with plush beds to sink into after walks across Ilkley Moor, just steps away.

Ship Inn, Norfolk Coast

This summer, Sisters Siobhan and Caitriona Peyton revitalized this seaside 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 (a short walk from the coast), local game 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 relax by the fireplace and enjoy a pork roll or monkfish scampi with a pint of local ale. Outside, the vast skies look particularly stunning at this time of year – look out for flocks of pink-footed geese – and trails cut through dunes and marshes.

Leicester Arms Inn, Kent

Opposite from the entrance to medieval Penshurst Place and Gardens, this historic pub is looking prettier than ever after a £1.2m revamp last year. It’s easy to see why 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 11 nature-themed rooms are decorated in an attractive heritage style. Four rooms come with rolltop baths for post-walk soaks after a ramble around the Penshurst Estate past the River Medway, lakes and ancient oaks.

Swan Inn, Sussex Countryside

The two-and-a-half year refurbishment of this historic inn in Fittleworth on the edge of the South Downs was worth the wait. Original features from its 14th-century roots mix with modern comfort in the bar, restaurant and 12 beautifully designed rooms – though it remains traditional, says the owner. Meals served in the wood-panelled, art-adorned dining room utilize local seasonal ingredients (foraged ceps and plum pudding on our visit) and generous breakfasts are served in the barn in the pretty gardens. The old visitor books are fascinating: famous visitors 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.

The Nevill Arms, Leicestershire

With its picturesque villages, pretty market towns and undulating landscape, 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 refurbished in 2023, with 10 bedrooms (including four-posters) spread between the inn and its converted stables – and next year they’ll add a stone cottage next door too. On the food front, beef, pork and lamb are reared on the owner’s farm, while in the blue bar there’s a changing selection of Langton Brewery beers on tap – the favorite of which is an amber ale, Inclined Plane, named after the canal lift at nearby Foxton Locks.

New Inn Yealand, Lancashire Countryside

New owners 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 turns out 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