ENGLAND
General Tarleton Inn, Yorkshire Dales
Chef Tommy Banks, one of Yorkshire’s favourite foodie sons, is renowned for his award-winning restaurant Black Swan at Oldstead, and he also has deep pub roots. Actually, the Black Swan originally operated as a pub, with Banks working behind the bar at his family’s establishment before graduating to the kitchen. In 2023, he opened the Abbey Inn in Byland, and he has just started a hospitality arm focused on reviving other pubs across the UK. The first project is the eight-bedroom General Tarleton in the village of Ferrensby, near Harrogate. The cuisine is exceptional, with refined versions of traditional pub dishes made with regional ingredients – ideal sustenance for walks along the river and into the Nidd Gorge, a local beauty spot.
The Bat and Ball, Oxfordshire
Dogs lounge by the fireplace and clergy at the bar at this quaint inn in the village of Cuddesdon, best known for its clergy 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 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 menu items elevate classic pub food and enhance them with carefully sourced local ingredients. The five bedrooms 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 relaunched 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. There’s plenty of history in oak beams and slate 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
Known affectionately as The Welly, this centuries-old coaching inn overlooks Boscastle Harbor on the rugged north Cornwall coast. A local brewery recently invested heavily doing it up, and the results are evident in the cosy dining rooms, intimate corners and stained-glass windows. The pick of the bedrooms are the two in the pub’s turret with standalone tubs, but every room 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, legendary birthplace of King Arthur as per myth, or east towards 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.
Woolpack Inn, Hampshire Countryside
Fresh from a makeover 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 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. In addition to providing almost all the vegetables on the menu, staff also contribute 20% of the harvest to community charities and shelters. Upstairs, eight bedrooms are named after game birds, but it’s fly fishing the local main attraction – casting for trout in the famous chalk stream of the River Itchen.
The Fleur de Lys, Dorset
Pub and restaurant firm Chickpea has nailed the modern country pubs with rooms formula – great food, welcoming bar and competitive rates for overnighters. The newest member to the fold is Fleur de Lys, a 17th-century inn in the village of Cranbourne. Author Thomas Hardy was a frequent visitor here and makes reference to it in Tess of the D’Urbervilles. The renovation reflects its period charm: hops hang over the large open fireplace, candles flicker on tables and, upstairs, nine rooms are decorated in muted colours. Walking routes loop around Cranborne Estate, with dishes such as Brixham sea bass, venison chop and toffee pudding to look forward to back at the pub afterwards.
The Penny Bun, Yorkshire Dales
Named after a mushroom 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 traditional pub fixtures. Located between Ilkley and Otley in the Yorkshire Dales, the recently opened pub is part of Denton Reserve, a 1,012-hectare estate undergoing an eco-friendly overhaul, 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 bedrooms (the plum one comes with a standalone tub), with deep beds to sink into after walks across Ilkley Moor, just steps away.
Ship Inn, Norfolk
Recently, The Peyton sisters revitalized 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 (a short walk from the coast), game from local estates is the highlight in autumn. On Sundays, expect roasted venison served with foraged mushrooms instead of the usual chicken or beef, while in the bar settle in by the fire and tuck into a mangalitza pork sausage roll or monkfish with a pint of Moon Gazer Ale. Outside, Norfolk’s big 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 medieval Penshurst Place and Gardens, this Grade II-listed pub is looking prettier than ever after a £1.2m revamp last year. No wonder it scooped Kent’s county prize at the 2025 National Bar and Pub Awards: there are plush armchairs by the fire in the bar, authentic Kent ales from a local brewery, and superior cuisine 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 rooms come with clawfoot tubs for post-walk soaks after a ramble around the Penshurst Estate past the River Medway, lakes and giant oak trees.
Swan Inn, Sussex Countryside
The two-and-a-half year refurbishment of this historic inn in Fittleworth on the South Downs was well worth it. Period details from its medieval origins mix with stylish comfort in the bar, restaurant and 12 beautifully designed rooms – though it remains traditional, says owner Angus Davies. Meals served in the wood-panelled, painting-lined dining room utilize seasonal local produce (wild mushrooms and plum pudding on our visit) and lavish breakfasts are served in the barn in the gardens. Historic guestbooks are fascinating: famous visitors include JMW Turner, John Constable and Rudyard Kipling. There’s plenty to do nearby, from antique shopping in local villages to walks on the downs, Petworth House and Arundel castle.
Nevill Arms Inn, Leicestershire
With its picturesque villages, pretty market towns and rolling countryside, the Welland valley is in a part of the country sometimes referred to as the Notswolds (like the Cotswolds but more affordable). Nevill Arms in the village of Medbourne was revamped in 2023, with 10 rooms (some with four-poster beds) spread between the pub and its converted stables – and soon they’ll add a three-bedroom stone cottage next door too. Culinarily, beef, pork and lamb are reared on the owner’s farm, while in the inky blue-painted bar there’s a changing selection of Langton ales on tap – the most popular of which is an amber bitter, Inclined Plane, named after the canal 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 mashed potatoes and cheese or beef pudding) to be eaten in the beamed dining room beside the fireplace. The bar is filled with locals sipping on
