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General Tarleton Inn, North Yorkshire

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. Actually, the Black Swan started out as one, with Banks serving drinks at his family’s establishment before moving into the kitchen. Recently, he opened the Abbey Inn in Byland, and he has recently launched a hospitality arm dedicated to restoring 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 – ideal sustenance for walks along the river and into the Nidd Gorge, a scenic local area.

Bat and Ball Inn, Oxfordshire Countryside

It’s dogs by the fire and clergy at the bar at this quaint inn in the village of Cuddesdon, famous for its theological college. It launched 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. This pub is the more relaxed option – there’s even a dart board – and dishes take typical pub fare and enhance them with premium local produce. The five bedrooms have walls painted in deep fall colors to match the surrounding countryside, which is sandwiched between the Cotswolds and Chilterns.

Kings Arms Inn, Lake District

This independently run inn, which reopened at the end of August, is at the center of the Lakeland village of Hawkshead, just a short walk from the Beatrix Potter gallery and the Hawkshead Grammar School museum, where the poet Wordsworth carved his name into his desk. There’s plenty of history in oak beams and stone 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 menu focuses on classics with Cumberland scotch eggs and beef wellington. Just the thing to be tucking into after a hike up nearby Latterbarrow fell.

Wellington Hotel, Cornish Coast

Known affectionately as The Welly, this centuries-old coaching inn overlooks Boscastle harbour on Cornwall’s dramatic north coast. A local brewery recently invested heavily renovating it, and the results are evident in the cosy dining rooms, intimate corners and stained glass panelling. The best rooms are the two in the pub’s turret with standalone tubs, but all 14 come with local art on the walls and OS maps and guidebooks for the coast path for walks. The path runs right outside: west to Tintagel Castle, legendary birthplace of King Arthur as per myth, or east towards Pentargon waterfall. Post-hike, there’s pints of local ale by the fire and servings of fish and chips to look forward to, made with local catch in Gem Ale batter.

Woolpack Inn, Hampshire Countryside

Fresh from a makeover by influential interior designer Nina Campbell, this rural inn is the centre of life in the small village of Totford in peaceful Candover Valley. Set amid fields and forests, so head chef Luke Stradling has plenty of local produce to draw on – supplemented by the pub’s sizeable vegetable garden, right now filled with pumpkin, celeriac and winter leaves. As well as supplying almost all the vegetables on the menu, the team also donates 20% of the harvest to community charities and shelters. Upstairs, eight bedrooms are named after game birds, but it’s fly fishing the local star draw – casting for trout in the world renowned chalk stream of the River Itchen.

The Fleur de Lys, Dorset Countryside

Pub and restaurant firm Chickpea has mastered the modern country pubs with rooms formula – excellent cuisine, welcoming bar and keen prices for overnighters. The newest member to the fold is the Fleur de Lys, a historic inn in the village of Cranbourne. The novelist Thomas Hardy was a frequent visitor here and makes reference to it in Tess of the D’Urbervilles. The renovation reflects its period charm: hops drape over the large open fireplace, candles flicker on tables and, upstairs, nine rooms are decorated in subdued tones. Walking routes loop around Cranborne Estate, with dishes such as Brixham 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 break from conventional pubs. With its clay-plastered walls and earth-toned palette, the style is minimalist than brass beer pumps. Located between Ilkley and Otley in the Yorkshire Dales, the recently opened pub is part of the 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, right outside the front door.

Ship Inn, Norfolk

Recently, Sisters Siobhan and Caitriona Peyton revitalized this historic coastal inn with nine rustic rooms in the village of Brancaster. The cooking here has a light Mediterranean touch, and while menus have one eye on the sea (less than a mile’s walk away), game from local estates is the star turn in autumn. For Sunday lunch, expect roasted venison served with local wild mushrooms instead of traditional meats, while in the bar relax by the fireplace and enjoy a pork roll or monkfish scampi 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 trails cut through dunes and marshes.

Leicester Arms Inn, Kent Countryside

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 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 highlights local produce, with lamb scotch egg and Whitstable oysters, while the 11 botanically named bedrooms are decorated in an attractive heritage style. Four of them come with clawfoot tubs for post-walk soaks after a stroll around the Penshurst Estate past River Medway, lakes and giant oak trees.

Swan Inn, Sussex Countryside

The two-and-a-half year refurbishment of this Grade II-listed coaching inn in Fittleworth on the South Downs was worth the wait. Period details 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 the owner. Meals served in the wood-paneled, art-adorned dining room utilize local seasonal ingredients (wild mushrooms and plum pudding on our visit) and generous breakfasts are served in the barn in the gardens. The old visitor books are interesting: 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 rolling countryside, Welland Valley is in a region sometimes referred to as the Notswolds (like the Cotswolds but more affordable). The Nevill Arms in the village of Medbourne was refurbished in 2023, with 10 bedrooms (including four-posters) spread between the inn and former stables – and soon they’ll add a 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 favorite of which is an amber bitter, Inclined Plane, named after the canal lift at nearby Foxton Locks.

New Inn Yealand, Lancashire Countryside

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 classy comfort food (shepherd's pie with mash and ewe’s cheese crumb or beef pudding) to be eaten in the rustic dining area beside the fireplace. The bar attracts locals sipping on