The Nag's Head

Review

The bedrooms are 'not luxurious, but perfectly adequate', and the food is 'very good' at this 200-year-old former coaching inn in an ancient village in Herriot country. Owned and managed by one family since 1972, it is now run ('impeccably') by Edward and Janet Boynton. A visitor returning this year enjoyed 'a warm welcome, excellent dinner and breakfast'. Everyone agrees about the 'good value', and the quality of Mark Harris's cooking. Dishes from an extensive menu ('three boards of starters and two of main courses') can be ordered in both the bar (where a large collection of ties is displayed) and the busy restaurant (where booking is essential). Typical offerings: game broth, herb dumpling; smoked haddock, mashed potato, Béarnaise sauce. In the 'large, pleasant' breakfast room (oak bookshelves, plants and traditional ornaments), smoked haddock and poached egg were 'excellent once again'. Some bedrooms are in an annexe, a converted Victorian house. Some rooms might be 'somewhat noisy (thin walls)'. Children 'with well-behaved parents' are welcomed, and pets 'must be properly controlled'. (Ann Duncan, Sir John B Hall, and others)