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ENGLAND'S BEST PUBS

General Tarleton Inn, Yorkshire Dales

Chef Tommy Banks, a celebrated Yorkshire chef, is most famous 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 serving drinks at his family’s establishment before moving into the kitchen. Recently, he opened Abbey Inn in Byland, and he has just started a hospitality arm focused on reviving other pubs across the UK. First up is the eight-bedroom General Tarleton in Ferrensby village, near Harrogate. Food, naturally, is top notch, with polished takes on pub classics made with local produce – the perfect fuel for riverside strolls and into the Nidd Gorge, a local beauty spot.

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 owners of Lamb Inn in nearby Little Milton, and the culinary team at both locations cut their teeth at the esteemed Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons down the road. This pub is the more relaxed option – 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 deep fall colors to match the surrounding countryside, which is nestled between the Cotswolds and Chilterns.

Kings Arms Inn, Lakeland

This family-owned pub, which relaunched at the end of August, is at the center of the Lakeland village of Hawkshead, around the corner from the Beatrix Potter gallery and Hawkshead Grammar School Museum, where a young William Wordsworth etched his name into his desk. It’s rich in history in the oak beams and slate 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 enjoying after a hike up nearby Latterbarrow fell.

The Wellington at Boscastle, Cornish Coast

Known affectionately as The Welly, this historic coaching house overlooks Boscastle Harbor on Cornwall’s dramatic north coast. St Austell Brewery recently splashed millions doing it up, and the results are evident in the cosy dining rooms, snugs and stained glass panelling. The pick of the bedrooms are the turret suites with standalone tubs, but all 14 come with artwork by local artists and OS maps and a South West Coast Path national trail book for walks. The path runs right outside: west to Tintagel Castle, legendary birthplace of King Arthur according to legend, or east towards Pentargon waterfall. After a coastal hike, there’s pints of Proper Job by the fire and plates of fish and chips to look forward to, made with local catch in ale batter.

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 chef Luke Stradling has abundant regional ingredients 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 shelters. Upstairs, eight bedrooms are themed after game birds, but fly fishing is the local main attraction – angling for trout in the world renowned chalk stream of the River Itchen.

Fleur de Lys Inn, Dorset Countryside

Pub and restaurant firm Chickpea has nailed the contemporary inns with accommodation formula – great food, welcoming bar and competitive rates for overnighters. The latest addition to the fold is the Fleur de Lys, a historic inn in the village of Cranbourne. Author Thomas Hardy was a regular guest here and references it in his novel Tess. The revamp reflects its period charm: hops drape over the large open fireplace, candles flicker on tables and, upstairs, nine rooms are decorated in muted colours. Trails loop around Cranborne Estate, with dishes such as Brixham sea bass, venison chop and sticky toffee pudding to look forward to back at the pub afterwards.

Penny Bun Inn, North Yorkshire

Named after a mushroom found in local woods, the Penny Bun is a break from conventional pubs. With its clay-plastered walls and palette of earthy browns, the look is more wabi-sabi minimalism than traditional pub fixtures. Located between Ilkley and Otley in the Yorkshire Dales, the new inn is part of Denton Reserve, a 1,012-hectare estate undergoing a sustainably led transformation, shifting to carbon sequestering and sustainable agriculture. It provides 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 plum one comes with a standalone tub), with deep beds to sink into after hikes on Ilkley Moor, just steps away.

The Ship, Norfolk Coast

Recently, Sisters Siobhan and Caitriona Peyton revitalized 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 one eye on the sea (a short walk from the coast), game from local estates is the star turn in autumn. For Sunday lunch, expect roasted venison served with local wild mushrooms instead of the usual chicken or beef, while in the bar relax by the fireplace and enjoy a pork roll or monkfish with a pint of Moon Gazer Ale. Outside, the vast skies look especially arresting at this time of year – look out for flocks of migrating pink-footed geese – and trails cut through dunes and salt marshes.

The Leicester Arms, Kent

Opposite from the entrance to Penshurst Place, this historic pub is looking prettier than ever after a £1.2m revamp last year. It’s easy to see why it scooped Kent’s county prize at the national awards: there are plush armchairs by the fire in the bar, real Kentish ales from a local brewery, and cut-above cooking in the dining room. The menu highlights local produce, with Kent 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 soaking after walks after a stroll around the Penshurst Estate past River Medway, lakes and giant oak trees.

Swan Inn, West Sussex

The two-and-a-half year refurbishment of this Grade II-listed coaching inn in Fittleworth on the edge of the South Downs was well worth it. Period details from its 14th-century roots mix with modern 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 (foraged ceps and 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 browsing antiques in local villages to walks on the downs, Petworth House and Arundel castle.

The Nevill Arms, Leicestershire Countryside

With its picturesque villages, pretty market 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 bedrooms (some with four-poster beds) spread between the pub 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 inky blue-painted bar there’s a changing selection of Langton ales on tap – the favorite of which is an amber ale, Inclined Plane, named after the 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 elevated comfort dishes (shepherd’s pie with mash and ewe’s cheese crumb or beef pudding) to be eaten in the rustic dining area beside the log burner. The bar attracts locals sipping on