50 great pubs in England and Wales

A Telegraph guide: 50 great pubs in England and Wales

by Alastair Sawday

From coaching inns to riverside havens, Alastair Sawday picks the pubs with the warmest welcome, best ales and finest food for the Telegraph

What makes a great pub? One man's pub is another's poison, though most of us agree about what makes a good pub. Don't we?

Upon reflection, I am not quite sure. I have been to some places that I thought were grim, but they were heaving with contented people.

For my part, if the beer is good, the food delicious and sourced as locally as possible, then I feel terrific.

If the pub is pretending to be something that it is not, then I am often pretty miserable. If there is good live music in a corner, I am usually happy, for a bit of fun is always welcome.

ALASTAIR SAWDAY'S PERSONAL FAVOURITE

The Royal Oak Inn Luxborough, Dunster, Somerset (01984 640319)

James Waller of The Royal Oak is a man after my own heart. "We have no background music, no fruit machines and no pool table," he says. "There is no mobile phone reception, although we do have a dartboard and a quiz league."

Tim, the head chef, specialises in fish and game. The fish comes from St Mawes in Cornwall, so it has a low food-miles count. The game is shot locally. The beef, lamb and venison almost walk off the Exmoor hills into the kitchen. There are tables set aside for people who want to spend the whole evening dining in an unhurried way.

The beer and ciders are local, too. In fact the whole operation is steeped in the area's traditions and culture. To gild this lily, you can stay for a few days in one of the inn's lovely rooms and spread your wings in the National Park.

This is one of the last officially "tranquil" areas of England and, to cap it all, you can tether your horse while you nip in for a drink.

BEST FOR FOOD

The Rose & Thistle

Rockbourne, Fordingbridge Hampshire (01725 518236)

This dreamy pub is a great mix of oak timbers, carved benches and flagstones. It has a reputation for fresh local produce and in the summer you can dine on smoked salmon and scrambled eggs in the garden, or prawns by the pint.

Shibden Mill Inn Shibden 

Halifax, West Yorkshire (01422 365840)

There's still a pubby feel to this rambling old inn, although it's known for its restaurant. Delicious dishes flow from the modern British kitchen: roast pigeon and beetroot risotto, wild turbot with blue cheese soufflé and mussel broth. The deep green valley setting is ideal for summer drinking.

The Clytha Arms 

Clytha, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire (01873 840206)

The inn stands on the old coaching route into border country, in gorgeous surroundings. Sit outside in fine weather and enjoy cockles, crab sandwiches, tapas and a ploughman's with three local cheeses. Inside, there are two bars: one with button-back sofas and low tables, the other more rustic, with a high ceiling, stripped floors and bar games.

Craven Heifer 

Chipping Road, Chaigley, Clitheroe, Lancashire (01254 826215)

Locally sourced ingredients are thoughtfully prepared. Ham and Lancashire cheese risotto with rocket pesto arrives steaming and fragrant, with a good glass of wine from the impressive list. Polish it all off with pan-fried spotted dog with vanilla ice cream, then venture into the rolling hills.

The Mill Race 

Walford, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire (01989 562891)

Foodies of all ages come here for the chef, Aaron Simms, who trained at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons. It's the best of modern British pub food. For lunch, there are steak burgers with onion marmalade and quiche of the day; for dinner, "real" prawn cocktail, wild mushroom risotto and steak and kidney pie.

The Millbrook Inn 

South Pool, Kingsbridge, Devon (01548 531581)

Arrive before the boats. They drop anchor a step away and their first port of call is this little pub with a big heart. Good food and hospitality are worshipped in the best seasonal and local style. Feast on legendary crab sandwiches and hand-cut chips.

The Waggon & Horses 

The Turnpike, Halam, Newark, Nottinghamshire (01636 813109)

Enticing menus change with the seasons and almost everything is sourced locally, while the fish arrives daily from Cornwall. Try braised monkfish wrapped in Parma ham with seared scallops and saffron linguine, and venison loin with grilled polenta and marinated pears; even the lunchtime rolls are worth it.

The Chequers Inn 

Main Street, Woolsthorpe-by-Belvoir, Grantham, Lincolnshire (01476 870701)

A coaching inn for 200 years, the Chequers has built a reputation as a top dining pub in recent years. Robust dishes - clam, squid and salmon risotto, calves' liver with mash, bacon and onion marmalade, chocolate tart with bitter orange sorbet - taste as good as they look.

The Keepers Arms 

Trotton, near Petersfield West Sussex (01730 813724)

The warm, friendly bar has beams, polished floorboards and a good range of ales from local breweries. The food includes foie gras and ham hock terrine with a pea purée and a salad of pea shoots, and honey-roasted Gressingham duck with creamed savoy cabbage, shiitake mushrooms and Puy lentils.

The Compasses at Pattiswick 

Pattiswick, Braintree, Essex (01376 561322)

Old favourites such as Gloucester Old Spot bangers with mash and onion gravy are founded on well-sourced raw materials from a network of local producers. More modern dishes include chicken breast with goat's cheese, and leek and bacon pasta. And who could resist spotted dick with Bird's custard?

The Bell

The Green, Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire (01564 742212)

The pub on the green is a post office, delicatessen, restaurant and b & b rolled into one. The main bar is contemporary and sleek: furniture from Italy, textured cushions, soft lighting, modish taupes and creams. The dining-room has a boudoir glow, all silvery papered walls, vast chandelier and chocolate fountain.

The Idle 

Hour 62 Railway Side, Barnes, London SW13 (020 8878 5555)

A small haven tucked away down an alley, with a fresh, contemporary decor and a predominantly organic menu. Sundays are legendary, with roasts brought to the table.

Coach & Horses 

26-28 Ray Street, Clerkenwell, London EC1 (020 7278 8990)

Savour a pint of London Pride in the small panelled bar as you check out the blackboard that lists some of the best gastropub food in London. British dishes are created with enthusiasm and ingredients burst with flavour: venison and partridge terrine with chutney; sea bream with lentils, fennel and salsa verde; quince and almond tart with cream.

The Wollaston Inn 

87 London Road, Wollaston, Northamptonshire (01933 663161)

It was once The Nag's Head: U2 played here and John Peel DJ'd. But then the local Dr Martens factory closed: when the boots walked, so did the pub's rockin' clientele. Now it's the food that rocks: Mediterranean saffron fish stew and hake steak, as well as partridge, venison, ploughman's and steamed syrup pudding.

The Three Horseshoes Inn

Bennett End, Radnage, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire (01494 483273)

London is only an hour's drive, but this is lost down a leafy lane. Come for lunch and baked camembert with garlic and rosemary, stay for dinner and tiger prawns, roasted sea bass, bread and butter pudding with marmalade ice cream. Private stairs lead to super attic rooms with silky quilts, goose down pillows, deluge showers and funky furniture.

The Harris Arms

Portgate, Lewdown, Devon (01566 783331)

Cheeses are the West Country's finest, fish, meat, vegetable and dairy produce come from exemplary local suppliers, and wines are chosen from small growers. Flavoursome food is what the chefs deliver and whether it be roast belly pork with cider jus, or rump of Devon lamb with redcurrant and mint jus, it is consistently good.

The Red Lion

32 High Street, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire (01799 530601)

A lovely spot for peaceful summer sipping. Pop in for a beef and horseradish sandwich or linger over pot-roasted rabbit. Adnams and Woodforde's beers add to the appeal, as do eclectic menus that list a range of classic pub dishes, all at good prices. Puddings are wonderful: sticky toffee pudding with caramel sauce, passion fruit pavlova.

The Grove Inn

Kings Nympton, nr South Molton, North Devon (01769 580406)

The pub is in the heart of old Nympton: a "natural sacred grove". A place of celebration for our pagan ancestors, and you should raise a glass to your good fortune in being here. Try individual Devon beef Wellington served with dauphinoise potatoes. The ales are Cotleigh, Exmoor and Tarka, the ciders are Sam's Dry Real and the wines are from Totnes.

The Potting Shed Pub 

The Street, Crudwell, Malmesbury, Wiltshire (01666 577833)

As well as the open fireplaces and the kilim sofas, there is a light fitting made from a wheelbarrow, door handles from trowels and hand pumps from fork handles. The food is exuberantly British: home-made pork scratchings and rabbit terrine, Gloucester Old Spot casserole and whole roasted mallard. Ploughman's lunches and sandwiches reflect the unpretentious leanings.

The Black Pig

18 Grove Hill Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent (01892 523030)

From the open-to-view kitchen flow pork sausages with mash and onion gravy, slow-roasted belly pork with roasted vegetables and Three Little Pigs, a board laden with English, Italian and Spanish hams. Non-porcine dishes include crab and scallop fettucine and rump of Sussex Red beef, and there are 13 wines by the glass.

The Wykham Arms

Colony Lane, Sibford Gower, Banbury, Oxfordshire (01295 788808)

Having seen the Cotswold village, you'd be forgiven for expecting cushions and chintz; instead you get flagged floors and farmhouse furnishings. The menu, served through a warren of connected rooms, spills over with local and seasonal produce. So tuck into Cornish scallops with celeriac remoulade, and wild boar and apple sausages with beer mustard mash.

The Boat 

Erbistock, Wrexham, North Wales (01978 780666)

An old riverside favourite that draws crowds in the summer. You eat in a conservatory extension before the fast-flowing Dee. Open and closed sandwiches and cod and chips in beer batter by day yield to sautéed pigeon breast on mixed leaves in the evening.

BEST FOR AUTHENTIC ATMOSPHERE

The White Horse Inn

Priors Dean, Petersfield, Hampshire (01420 588387)

Known as "The Pub with No Name" - the cradle on the nearby road is sign-less - this isolated pub is fiendish to find, but is worth the effort for its candlelit Jacobean charm. Untouched by modernity, its two splendid bars have open log fires, old tables, clocks and agrarian implements.

The White Hart

Main Road, Fyfield, Abingdon, Oxfordshire (01865 390585)

It's incredible to think that when Henry VIII came to the throne, this building was already 70 years old. Stone mullioned windows, oak timbers and a magnificent arch-braced roof are the backdrop for oak settles, and wrought-iron candle holders. The menu is extensive and modern: roast fillet of venison with beetroot gratin, Savoy cabbage and bacon.

The Pheasant Inn

Stannersburn, Kielder Water, Hexham, Northumberland (01434 240382)

A super little inn run with an instinctive understanding of its traditions. The stone walls hold old photos of the community, from colliery to smithy. The bars are wonderful: brass beer taps glow, anything wooden is polished to perfection. The house ales are expertly kept.

The Maltsters Arms 

Bow Creek, Tuckenhay, Totnes, Devon (01803 732350)

The setting is spectacular - on the quay of the wooded and beautiful Bow Creek - so pick a table outside. The 1550s pub is friendly and cheerfully informal; get cosy in winter, and convivial in summer. The quayside bar, with barbecue, is ever-open and a boon on warm days. Daily menus use local ingredients.

The Cow & Plough 

Stoughton Farm Park, Gartree Road, Oadby, Leicestershire (0116 272 0852)

A pub-restaurant housed in the former milking sheds of a working farm. The Lounts founded it in 1989 and filled it with good beer and a hoard of brewery memorabilia: the two back bars are stuffed with period signs, mirrors and bottles. It later became an outlet for their range of Steamin' Billy ales.

Old Cannon Brewery 

86 Cannon Street, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk (01284 768769)

A revitalised Victorian brewhouse-pub where boards clatter, the tables are plain and a huge mirror vies with two stainless steel brewing vessels. Great beer, modern pub food - worth the five-minute walk from town. All beers are made on the premises using East Anglian grown and malted pearl barley, choice hops and pure bore water.

The Travellers Rest

Steep Lane, Sowerby, Halifax, West Yorkshire (01422 832124)

The blackboard menu highlights scrumptious English dishes - chicken and leek pie with home-made chips, lamb shank with redcurrant gravy - while in the stylish bar you can choose between Timothy Taylor on tap and a champagne cocktail. The terrace offers stunning views over the wild moors.

The Feathers Inn 

Brockton, Much Wenlock, Shropshire (01746 785202)

Once two Elizabethan cottages built from ship-salvaged timber, the Feathers stands in prime walking country. And the rambling, characterful interior comes as a surprise. Walk in to tiled and wooden floors, whitewashed stone walls, painted beams, a vast inglenook, stone busts and colourful art for sale. Order a pint of Hobson's or an excellent wine to accompany some great pub food.

The Gun 

Gun Hill, nr Horam, Heathfield, East Sussex (01825 872361)

Winding lanes lead to this 16th-century tiled and timbered farmhouse. Expect a neat open-plan interior with comfortably furnished alcoves, plank floors, thick candles on scrubbed tables. Traditional menus champion local produce and every dish is freshly prepared. Kick off with a Sussex smokie, follow with a shortcrust pastry pie or a Sussex rib-eye steak with pepper sauce.

The Black Boy Inn 

Milton, Banbury, Oxfordshire (01295 722111)

The single long room oozes original features and charm: oak beams and exposed stone walls by the bar. Really good food embraces pub classics such as sausages and mash as well as more modern dishes like crab, lime and chilli cakes with ginger and lemongrass sauce. Heart-warming puds include dark chocolate fondant and sticky toffee pudding.

The Wheatsheaf

Brigsteer, Kendal, Cumbria (01539 568254)

Brigsteer is a jumble of old cottages and new houses and this long, whitewashed pub has sat on the crossroads since 1762. Everything is cooked from scratch with flair - no fast food here. Try slow-cooked, Cumbrian rabbit with braised leeks, shortcrust pastry and Cumberland mustard cream, or slowly braised saddleback pork belly with black pudding and smoked garlic roast potatoes.

The Black Swan 

Main Street, Oldstead, York, North Yorkshire (01347 868387)

In glorious isolation, tucked back from the road, the Black Swan goes back 400 years. There are stone flags and beams and mix 'n' match furniture. Ingredients are sourced locally, the meat comes from nearby farms; bread and puddings are home-made. Take a pint of Copper Dragon to the blossom trees and gaze on the Wolds.

BEST FOR ROOMS

The Pear Tree Inn

Top Lane, Whitley, Melksham, Wiltshire (01225 709131)

This is a dreamy blend of French inspiration and English whimsy that makes you feel that you've washed up in dining-pub heaven. Exquisite bedrooms come in lime white and have suede headboards, wonderfully upholstered armchairs, Bang & Olufsen TVs and funky rugs for colour; bathrooms have robes and creamy tiles. As for the food, it's unmissable.

The Swan Inn 

Petworth Road, Chiddingfold, Guildford, Surrey (01428 682073)

Here are a sparkling dining-room and a cool bar - wooden floors, chunky tables: this is more chic restaurant than time-worn boozer. If you're staying, contemporary bedrooms have a minimalist feel, with muted earthy colours, flat-screen TVs and trendy bathrooms with power showers and posh toiletries.

The Queen's Head 

2 Long Street, Belton, Leicestershire (01530 222359)

A cool, relaxed drinkers' bar, all leather sofas, blond wood and low-slung tables, a bistro with a welcoming fire and a dining room of wood, suede and leather, with a canopied al fresco extension. Add spacious, spotless and warmly carpeted bedrooms with a similarly stylish feel and you have a well-nigh perfect coaching inn.

The Bickley Mill

Stoneycombe, Kingskerswell, Devon (01803 873201)

Everywhere you look something lovely catches the eye, be it a huge sofa covered with mountainous cushions, old black and white photos hanging on the walls or a decked terrace at the side for a pint or two in the summer sun. Bedrooms have a simple beauty in warm colours, pretty pine, trim carpets and crisp white linen.

The Kings Arms Hotel

19 Market Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire (01993 813636)

Standing proud in historic Woodstock, the Kings Arms is a refuge from town bustle. Tradition can be found downstairs in the classic bar - all boarded floors, leather banquettes, carved wooden settle, stained-glass panels. In the bedrooms be spoilt by low-slung solid wood beds with firm mattresses and richly coloured throws, super bathrooms, thick fluffy towels and Molton Brown toiletries.

The Carnarvon Arms

Winchester Road, Whitway, Burghclere, Newbury, Berkshire (01635 278222)

The thoroughly modern renovation of this once rambling coaching inn near the gates of Highclere Castle is a spruce, stylish and upbeat affair. Expect fresh vibrant colours, bare boards and deep sofas in lounges, and a swishly traditional bar. Bedrooms are equally smart, dressed in fashionably neutral fabrics and tones, accompanied by plasma screens and WiFi connections.

The Horse & Groom

The Street, Charlton, Malmesbury, Wiltshire (01666 823904)

Egyptian linen on big wooden beds, flat-screen TVs, claw-foot baths, power showers and tempting toiletries. A well-priced menu that champions pub classics - home-made beefburger with chips and tomato relish, Wiltshire ham, eggs and chips - alongside more innovative British dishes, perhaps potted liver and honey paté. And there's a secret walled garden for civilised summer drinking.

Wheelrights Arms

Church Lane, Monkton Combe, Bath, Somerset (01225 722287)

The Wheelwrights dates to 1750. Inside, beautiful contemporary colours mix with soft stone walls and exposed timber frames. There's a wonderful snug, the daily papers are left on the bar and the food is delicious. On summer nights, dine in the garden illuminated by lights in the trees. Airy bedrooms come in fresh, original style.

The Inn Grinshill 
High Street, Grinshill, Shrewsbury, Shropshire (01939 220410)

A wonderfully welcoming bolthole. Wander at will and you'll find an 18th-century panelled family room with rugs and games, a 19th-century bar with quarry-tiled floors and a 21st-century dining room flooded with light, courtesy of glazed coach-house arches. The bedrooms are just as good, with piles of pillows, crisp white linen and wispy mohair blankets.

The Foresters Arms 

The Street, Graffham, West Sussex (01798 867202)

The pub dates from the 17th century, has beamed ceilings, exposed bricks, darkwood floors and cottagey furniture and pews. Menus change daily and are driven by good quality produce from within 50 miles. Cosy bedrooms in a building next door are small and simple but nicely decorated with good linen, trim carpets, chunky beds and bathrooms with showers.

Battlesteads Hotel

Wark on Tyne, Hexham, Northumberland (01434 230209)

Enter a large, cosy, low-beamed and panelled bar with local cask ales on hand pump. A step further and you find a second bar, more spacious; further still, a big formal dining area: leather chairs at dark wood tables. The menus show a commitment to sourcing locally, and that includes lamb, beef and fish landed at North Shields.

The Swan Hotel

1 Church Street, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire (01225 868686)

The Swan goes back to the 15th century. Inside, an easy elegance and relaxed informality go hand in hand. Come for great English food - perhaps Devon crab with toast and lemon, fish pie with cheddar mash, lime cheesecake with fresh raspberries. Uncluttered bedrooms are a treat, supremely comfortable with crisp white linen, padded headboards, delicious fabrics and flat-screen TVs.

The Red Pump Inn 

Clitheroe Road, Bashall Eaves, Clitheroe, Lancashire (01254 826227)

The menu is big in season on local game (with a rare sighting of jugged hare). There's slow-roasted duck leg with home-made orange marmalade, roasted belly pork in seriously big portions, and home-made sausages made with herbs from the garden, served with delicious champ and minted gravy. The white-painted bedrooms have chocolate silk bedspreads and luxurious linens.

The Mardale Inn @ St Patrick's Well

Bampton, Penrith, Cumbria (01931 713244)

Try potted Morecambe Bay shrimps, smoked haddock fishcakes with herb mayonnaise and wild mushroom and pea risotto. If you're a sweet sort of person finish with toffee pudding and caramel sauce, or a local cheese platter. Or you could just sink into one of the calming bedrooms upstairs; uncluttered with pale oatmeal carpets and spanking new bathrooms. www.mardaleinn.co.uk

The Talbot 

Iwerne Minster, Blandford Forum, Dorset (01747 811269)

The early 20th-century exterior opens to an exceedingly good pub-with-rooms. Monthly menus and daily dishes reflect the seasons and make brilliant use of local supplies - game from surrounding estates, fish from Dorset day boats, meats and sausages from the village butcher.

This is an abridged extract from Alastair Sawday's Special Places: Pubs and Inns of England and Wales (£14.99).