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ENGLAND'S BEST PUBS

General Tarleton Inn, Yorkshire Dales

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. Actually, the Black Swan originally operated as a pub, with Banks serving drinks at his family’s establishment before graduating to the kitchen. In 2023, he launched Abbey Inn in Byland, and he has recently launched a hospitality arm focused on reviving 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 local produce – the perfect fuel for riverside strolls and into the Nidd Gorge, a local beauty spot.

The Bat and Ball, Oxfordshire

Dogs lounge by the fireplace and dog collars at the bar at this charming pub in the village of Cuddesdon, famous for its theological college. It launched at the start of the year by the owners of the Lamb Inn in nearby Little Milton, and the culinary team 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 – it even features a dartboard – and dishes take typical pub fare and enhance them with premium local produce. 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 independently run inn, which relaunched at the end of August, is at the center of the Lakeland village of Hawkshead, just a short walk from 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 menu focuses on classics with Cumberland scotch eggs and beef wellington. The perfect meal to be enjoying after a stomp up nearby Latterbarrow fell.

Wellington Hotel, Cornwall

Known affectionately as The Welly, this centuries-old coaching inn overlooks Boscastle Harbor on the rugged north Cornwall coast. St Austell Brewery recently invested heavily renovating it, and it shows in the cosy dining rooms, snugs and stained-glass windows. The pick of the bedrooms are the turret suites with freestanding baths, 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 according to legend, or east towards Pentargon waterfall. Post-hike, there’s pints of Proper Job by the fire and plates of fish and chips to look forward to, made with fresh local fish in Gem Ale batter.

The Woolpack Inn, Hampshire Countryside

Recently renovated by influential interior designer Nina Campbell, this rural inn is the centre of life in the tiny hamlet of Totford in peaceful Candover Valley. Set amid fields and forests, so chef Luke Stradling has abundant regional ingredients to draw on – supplemented 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, staff also contribute 20% of the harvest to community charities and shelters. Upstairs, eight guest rooms are themed after game birds, but it’s fly fishing the local main attraction – angling for trout in the world renowned chalk stream of the River Itchen.

Fleur de Lys Inn, Dorset Countryside

Hospitality group Chickpea has mastered the contemporary inns with accommodation formula – great food, friendly bar and competitive rates for overnighters. The latest addition to the fold is Fleur de Lys, a historic inn in the village of Cranbourne. Author Thomas Hardy was a frequent visitor here and makes reference to it in his novel Tess. The revamp reflects its historical character: hops drape over the large open fireplace, candles glow on tables and, upstairs, the nine bedrooms are decorated in muted colours. Trails loop around Cranborne Manor, with dishes such as Brixham sea bass, venison 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 departure from your traditional boozer. With its earthen walls and earth-toned palette, the look is more wabi-sabi minimalism than brass beer pumps. Located between Ilkley and Otley in the Yorkshire Dales, the new inn is part of the Denton Reserve, a 1,012-hectare 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 pork croquette salad or beetroot gnocchi. The calming aesthetic particularly suits the five rooms (the best room comes with a standalone tub), with plush beds to sink into after hikes on Ilkley Moor, just steps away.

Ship Inn, Norfolk Coast

This summer, The Peyton sisters revitalized this seaside inn with nine beamed bedrooms in the village of Brancaster. The cuisine has a light Mediterranean touch, and while menus have one eye on the sea (less than a mile’s walk away), local game is the highlight 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 tuck into a pork roll or monkfish with a pint of Moon Gazer Ale. Outside, Norfolk’s big 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 Countryside

Opposite from the entrance to Penshurst Place, this historic pub is more attractive than ever after a £1.2m revamp last year. No wonder 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 a local brewery, 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 a classic style. Four of them come with rolltop baths for post-walk soaks 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 beautifully designed rooms – though it remains “proudly old fashioned”, says owner Angus Davies. Meals served in the wood-paneled, art-adorned dining room utilize local seasonal ingredients (wild mushrooms and fresh plum pudding on our visit) and lavish breakfasts are served in a 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 downland walks, Petworth House and Arundel Castle.

Nevill Arms Inn, Leicestershire

With its picturesque villages, charming towns and undulating landscape, the Welland valley is in a region sometimes referred to as the Notswolds (like the Cotswolds but without the price tag). Nevill Arms in the village of Medbourne was revamped in 2023, with 10 rooms (including four-posters) spread between the inn and its converted stables – and soon 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 Brewery beers on tap – the most popular of which is an amber ale, Inclined Plane, named after the canal lift at nearby Foxton Locks.

New Inn Yealand, Lancashire

Young couple Ben and Lauren Sandiford assumed 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 and ale suet pudding) to be eaten in the beamed dining room beside the log burner. The bar attracts locals sipping on