ENGLAND'S BEST PUBS
General Tarleton Inn, North Yorkshire
Chef Tommy Banks, one of Yorkshire’s favourite foodie sons, is renowned for the Michelin-starred restaurant Black Swan at Oldstead, but he’s no stranger to pubs. In fact, the Black Swan started out as one, with Banks serving drinks at his family’s establishment before moving into the kitchen. In 2023, he launched Abbey Inn in Byland, and he has just started a hospitality arm dedicated to restoring other pubs across the UK. The first project is the eight-bedroom General Tarleton in Ferrensby village, near Harrogate. Food, naturally, is top notch, with refined versions of traditional pub dishes made with local produce – the perfect fuel for walks along the river and into the Nidd Gorge, a local beauty spot.
Bat and Ball Inn, Oxfordshire Countryside
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 was opened 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 nearby landscape, which is sandwiched 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, just a short walk from the Beatrix Potter gallery and Hawkshead Grammar School Museum, where a young William Wordsworth carved his name into his desk. It’s rich in history in oak beams and slate floors at the King’s Arms too, which dates back to the 17th century. At the dark-wood 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. Just the thing to be tucking into after a hike up nearby Latterbarrow fell.
The Wellington at Boscastle, Cornwall
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 it shows in the cosy dining rooms, 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 a South West Coast Path national trail book for walks. The trail passes nearby: west to Tintagel Castle, legendary birthplace of King Arthur according to legend, or round past 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 Gem Ale batter.
The Woolpack Inn, Hampshire
Fresh from a makeover by influential interior designer Nina Campbell, this rural inn is the centre of life in the tiny hamlet 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 – complemented by the pub’s sizeable vegetable garden, currently growing pumpkin, celeriac and winter leaves. As well as supplying almost all the vegetables on the menu, staff also contribute 20% of the harvest to local charities and shelters. Upstairs, eight guest rooms are themed after game birds, but fly fishing is the local main attraction – casting for trout in the world renowned chalk stream of the River Itchen.
The Fleur de Lys, Dorset
Hospitality group Chickpea has mastered the contemporary inns with accommodation formula – great food, welcoming bar and keen prices for overnighters. The latest addition to the fold is the Fleur de Lys, a 17th-century 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 renovation reflects its period charm: hops hang over the large open fireplace, candles glow on tables and, upstairs, the nine bedrooms are decorated in subdued tones. Walking routes loop around Cranborne Estate, with dishes such as Brixham 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 clay-plastered walls and earth-toned palette, the look is more wabi-sabi minimalism than brass beer pumps. Between Ilkley and Otley in the Yorkshire Dales, the recently opened pub is part of the Denton Reserve, a 2,500-acre estate undergoing an eco-friendly overhaul, shifting to carbon sequestering and sustainable agriculture. It provides many of the ingredients found on the menu at the Penny Bun, such as pork croquette salad or beetroot gnocchi. The calming aesthetic particularly suits the five bedrooms (the plum one comes with a freestanding bath), with deep beds to sink into after hikes on Ilkley Moor, just steps away.
Ship Inn, Norfolk Coast
This summer, Sisters Siobhan and Caitriona Peyton rebooted this historic coastal inn with nine rustic rooms in the village of Brancaster. The cuisine has a light Mediterranean touch, and while menus have one eye on the sea (a short walk from the coast), 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 pork roll or monkfish with a pint of local ale. Outside, Norfolk’s big skies look particularly stunning at this time of year – watch for flocks of pink-footed geese – and trails cut through dunes and marshes.
The Leicester Arms, Kent Countryside
Opposite from the entrance to medieval Penshurst Place and Gardens, this historic pub is more attractive than ever after a £1.2m revamp last year. It’s easy to see why it won Kent’s county prize at the 2025 National Bar and Pub Awards: there are plush armchairs by the fire in the bar, real Kentish ales from nearby Larkins, and cut-above cooking in the dining room. The menu focuses on local produce, with Kent lamb scotch egg and oysters from Whitstable, while 11 nature-themed rooms are decorated in a classic style. Four of them come with rolltop baths for soaking after walks after a stroll 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 medieval origins mix with stylish comfort in the bar, restaurant and 12 elegant rooms – though it remains “proudly old fashioned”, says owner Angus Davies. Dining in the wood-paneled, art-adorned dining room draw on local seasonal ingredients (foraged ceps and plum pudding on our visit) and generous breakfasts are served in a barn in the pretty gardens. Historic guestbooks are fascinating: notable guests include JMW Turner, John Constable and Rudyard Kipling. There’s plenty to do nearby, from browsing antiques in local villages to downland walks, Petworth House and Arundel Castle.
The Nevill Arms, Leicestershire
With its picturesque villages, charming towns and undulating landscape, Welland Valley is in a region sometimes referred to as the Notswolds (similar to the Cotswolds but without the price tag). The Nevill Arms in the village of Medbourne was refurbished in 2023, with 10 rooms (including four-posters) spread between the inn and former stables – and next year they’ll add a three-bedroom stone cottage next door too. On the food front, meats are sourced from the owner’s farm, while in the blue bar there’s a changing selection of Langton Brewery beers on tap – the most popular of which is an amber bitter, 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 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 log burner. The bar attracts locals sipping on
