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The General Tarleton, Yorkshire Dales

Chef Tommy Banks, a celebrated Yorkshire chef, is renowned for the Michelin-starred restaurant Black Swan at Oldstead, and he also has deep pub roots. In fact, the Black Swan originally operated as a pub, with Banks serving drinks 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. First up is General Tarleton with eight rooms in Ferrensby village, near Harrogate. The cuisine is exceptional, with polished takes on pub classics made with regional ingredients – the perfect fuel for riverside strolls and into Nidd Gorge, a local beauty spot.

Bat and Ball Inn, Oxfordshire

It’s dogs by the fire 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 owners of Lamb Inn in nearby Little Milton, and the culinary team at both locations gained experience at two-Michelin-star 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 enhance them with carefully sourced local ingredients. Five guest rooms have walls painted in deep fall colors to match the nearby landscape, which is sandwiched between the Cotswolds and Chilterns.

Kings Arms Inn, 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 the Hawkshead Grammar School museum, where the poet Wordsworth etched his name into his desk. There’s plenty of history in oak beams and stone floors at the King’s Arms too, which originates in the 1600s. Behind the dark-wood panelled bar is a selection of regional ales 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.

The Wellington at Boscastle, Cornish Coast

Affectionately called The Welly, this centuries-old coaching inn overlooks Boscastle harbour on the rugged north Cornwall coast. St Austell Brewery recently splashed millions renovating it, and the results are evident in the snug dining areas, snugs 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 ordnance survey maps and a South West Coast Path national trail book for walks. The path runs right outside: heading west to Tintagel Castle, birthplace of King Arthur according to legend, or round past Pentargon waterfall. After a coastal hike, there’s pints of Proper Job by the fire and servings of fish and chips to look forward to, made with local catch in Gem Ale batter.

The Woolpack Inn, Hampshire

Recently renovated by renowned designer Nina Campbell, this country pub is the centre of life in the tiny hamlet of Totford in the tranquil Candover valley. It is surrounded by fields and woodlands, so chef Luke Stradling has abundant regional ingredients to draw on – complemented 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 local charities and homeless shelters. Upstairs, eight guest rooms are themed 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 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 17th-century inn in the village of Cranbourne. The novelist Thomas Hardy was a regular guest 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. Walking routes 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.

The Penny Bun, North Yorkshire

Inspired by a fungus found in local woods, Penny Bun is a departure from your traditional boozer. 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 recently opened pub is part of Denton Reserve, a 2,500-acre estate undergoing an eco-friendly overhaul, shifting to carbon sequestering and regenerative farming. It provides many of the ingredients found on the menu at the Penny Bun, such as Tamworth pork croquette salad or gnocchi with roasted garden beetroots. The calming aesthetic particularly suits the five bedrooms (the best room comes with a freestanding bath), with plush beds to sink into after walks across Ilkley Moor, right outside the front door.

Ship Inn, Norfolk

This summer, Sisters Siobhan and Caitriona Peyton rebooted this seaside inn with nine beamed bedrooms in the village of Brancaster. The cuisine has Mediterranean influences, and while menus have a focus on seafood (less than a mile’s walk away), local game is the star turn in autumn. On Sundays, expect roasted venison served with foraged mushrooms instead of traditional meats, while in the front bar relax by the fireplace and enjoy a mangalitza pork sausage roll or monkfish with a pint of local ale. Outside, Norfolk’s big skies look especially arresting at this time of year – watch for flocks of migrating pink-footed geese – and trails cut through dunes and salt marshes.

The Leicester Arms, Kent Countryside

Opposite from the entrance to medieval Penshurst Place and Gardens, this Grade II-listed pub is more attractive than ever after a major renovation last year. It’s easy to see why it scooped Kent’s county prize at the 2025 National Bar and Pub Awards: there are deep leather armchairs by the fire in the bar, authentic Kent ales from a local brewery, and cut-above cooking in the dining room. The menu focuses on local produce, with lamb scotch egg and oysters from Whitstable, while the 11 botanically named bedrooms are decorated in an attractive heritage style. Four rooms come with clawfoot tubs for soaking after walks after a stroll around the Penshurst Estate past River Medway, lakes and ancient oaks.

Swan Inn, Sussex Countryside

The lengthy renovation of this Grade II-listed coaching inn in Fittleworth on the edge of the South Downs was well worth it. 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. Meals served in the wood-panelled, art-adorned dining room draw on local seasonal ingredients (foraged ceps and fresh plum pudding on our visit) and generous breakfasts are served in a barn in the gardens. The old visitor books are fascinating: notable guests 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

With its honeyed hamlets, pretty market towns and rolling countryside, the Welland valley is in a region sometimes referred to as the Notswolds (similar to the Cotswolds but without the price tag). Nevill Arms in the village of Medbourne was revamped in 2023, with 10 bedrooms (some with four-poster beds) spread between the inn and former 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 ale, Inclined Plane, named after the canal lift at nearby Foxton Locks.

New Inn, 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 turns out classy comfort food (shepherd's pie with mash and ewe’s cheese crumb or beef and ale suet pudding) to be eaten in the rustic dining area beside the log burner. The bar is filled with locals sipping on