History feels very present at this half-timbered, jettied medieval inn overlooking village green, with a choice of atmospheric four-poster rooms and contemporary accommodation, real ales on tap, and an eclectic menu served in a panelled dining room.

It was nearly Howard's end in 2015 before two local families stepped in to restore the fortunes of this traditional village pub, which 'makes a great base for exploring the Cotswolds' with its 'upmarket pub food, good service and excellent breakfasts'.

The fun, hip, relaxed ethos of this pub with exceptional-value rooms on the edge of the Fonthill Estate is evident from the minute you walk in the door. Guide insiders couldn't believe the buzz when they arrived at this 'comfy, characterful place' in the afternoon, long after lunch.

Rescued from closure by two local couples, this gastropub at the heart of a picturesque village, has stylish bedrooms and cooking of a very high order.

Since the arrival, in 2023, of chef-patron Gareth Rayner at this gastropub just inland from the North Norfolk Coast, this dog-friendly gastropub with character bedrooms has been garnering awards for creative cooking.

Friendly, unfussy, effortlessly stylish, Charles and Edmund Inkin's dining pub is an 'effortlessly stylish' base from which to explore some of Cornwall's best scenery on the coastal path.

The quintessential local gastropub in a Wealden village never ceases to please readers, with imaginative food, four good bedrooms and a warm, friendly ambience.

To find a gem in a quiet corner of the visitor-thronged Lake District is not easy, but this smart village inn in the lovely Lyth valley offers 'top-notch food', 'great service' and country-style bedrooms.

A picturesque cottage-style Georgian coaching inn within a verdant designed landscape on the Lansdowne's estate is today a dog-friendly hotel, pub and anglers' dream.

'Over five decades the dear old George has never missed a beat, and our stay was as perfect as ever in this beautiful, old but supremely comfortable hotel in a lovely town.'

'Talk about Cotswolds chic,' writes our inspector of boutique hotel Wild Thyme and Honey, which stands alongside The Crown at Ampney Brook. Together, they form part of Grosvenor Pubs and Inns, but are a very personal project for founders Jason and Shara Myers.

Michael and Johanna Wignall have reimagined a 15th-century Dales inn, creating classy, contemporary bedrooms, most in annexes with views over Rylstone Fell, and intimate dining spaces in which to sample Michael's Michelin-starred cooking.

'Despite a wild and rural backdrop' of 'a tall sandstone ridge, surrounded by mature trees', this pub-with-rooms is just a stroll from the town centre.

Inventive cooking of beautifully presented dishes impress at this gastropub overlooking the Evenlode valley, with four rooms that are smart but not ostentatiously 'designer'.

The quintessential local gastropub in a Wealden village never ceases to please readers, with imaginative food, four good bedrooms and a warm, friendly ambience.

'The Inkin brothers know how to run hotels,' concludes a reader of this welcoming pub with rooms in an enchanting Cornish fishing village. 'There is nothing that needs improving.

A 'popular pub in a beautiful village', this 15th-century coaching inn with its old arched carriageway has been beautifully made over in casual-chic style. It was a second venture for Dan Brod and Charlie Luxton, with Matt Greenlees (see also The Lord Poulett Arms, Hinton St George, and The Bath Arms, Horningsham).

Huddled below wooded hills, beside a stone bridge over the River Monnow, this whitewashed former 17th-century coaching inn is delightfully at ease in the landscape.

A 'laid-back, fire-in-the hearth, village pub atmosphere' prevails at this charming thatched gastropub with riverside guesthouse on the edge of Salisbury Plain.

Overlooking the village green and duck pond, this 18th-century village pub is a friendly local drop-in and foodie destination with Scandi-cool house bedrooms and spacious, eco-friendly, super-duper, stripped-back-chic timber garden rooms.

Tom and Michaela Kitchin preside at this gastropub, where Victorian interiors have had a smart-casual Scandi-Scotia makeover, and you can dine on pub classics in the bar, or get the nosebag on for Tom's Michelin-starred nature-to-plate dishes in the converted stables.

Michael and Johanna Wignall have reimagined a 15th-century Dales inn, creating classy, contemporary bedrooms, most in annexes with views over Rylstone Fell, and intimate dining spaces in which to sample Michael's Michelin-starred cooking.

A 'haven of peace and calm, with excellent pub food and friendly, efficient service,' this 18th-century inn stands beside a Saxon church in a stunning village in Teasdale.

More a stylish gastropub than a community hub, this historic inn has a loyal following of foodies who rave about its 'delicious meals' as well as its 'lovely quiet rooms'.

The catch of the day could be Shetland hake in the restaurant or nifty fielding on the sands at this pub-with-rooms overlooking the Firth of Forth, with its own beach cricket team.

They have all their ducks in a row at this wisteria-decked gastropub-with-rooms overlooking the green in a village where mallards glide on old abbey fishponds.

Thomas Hardy fans will be in their element at this local watering hole in Dorset, which was the model for 'The Sow and Acorn' in Tess of the d'Urbervilles.

The humble setting of this former coaching inn, half a mile from the Scottish border, belies its chic bedrooms and creative cooking.

Between the Thames and Windrush, this 17th-century pub blends all the charm of a traditional village local with rugs on flagstone floors, comfy sofas and log-burner, country-chic bedrooms and gastropub cooking.

With onsite brewery, boutique-style bedrooms in the main building and a converted barn, and a menu of popular classics and more exotic dishes, this modernised 300-year-old village pub retains plenty of character.

The quintessential local gastropub in a Wealden village never ceases to please readers, with imaginative food, four good bedrooms and a warm, friendly ambience.

This gastropub-with-rooms is set in a beguilingly pretty 17th-century Bath stone inn with mullioned windows and cascading wisteria, and lovely gardens outside.

Rising phoenix-like from the ashes of a conflagration, Andrew Pern's thatched village gastropub retains its joyful eccentricity, with quirky, rustic bedrooms in converted farm buildings, while Mr Pern's modern Yorkshire cooking has lost none of its spark.

The humble setting of this former coaching inn, half a mile from the Scottish border, belies its chic bedrooms and creative cooking.

A 'popular pub in a beautiful village', this 15th-century coaching inn with its old arched carriageway has been beautifully made over in casual-chic style. It was a second venture for Dan Brod and Charlie Luxton, with Matt Greenlees (see also The Lord Poulett Arms, Hinton St George, and The Bath Arms, Horningsham).

Olde worlde charm is mixed with contemporary comforts, traditional Sunday roasts and pub classics with modern British dishes, at this Cotswold-stone inn, contrived from a row of 15th-century weavers' cottages.

Tom and Michaela Kitchin preside at this gastropub, where Victorian interiors have had a smart-casual Scandi-Scotia makeover, and you can dine on pub classics in the bar, or get the nosebag on for Tom's Michelin-starred nature-to-plate dishes in the converted stables.

With quiz nights, a jukebox, a well-patronised bar and a choice of dining spaces, the 18th-century Royal Oak has a lively community feel where both locals and visitors feel welcome.

A 'haven of peace and calm, with excellent pub food and friendly, efficient service,' this 18th-century inn stands beside a Saxon church in a stunning village in Teasdale.

Holding court in the centre of Ravenstonedale, 'twixt the Lakes and the Dales, The Black Swan has the hallmarks of a much-loved village inn: home-cooked food, cheery atmosphere and comforting bedrooms.

This is a proper village inn with locals enjoying pints in the bar, scrubbed tables, robust food and comfortable, homely bedrooms.

A 'laid-back, fire-in-the hearth, village pub atmosphere' prevails at this charming thatched gastropub with riverside guesthouse on the edge of Salisbury Plain.

Twisty lanes and steep hills ensure this village inn, with its celebrated seafood and views over Beesands beach on Devon's coast, still feels like a wonderful discovery.

Overlooking the River Hodder in the Forest of Bowland, this sprawling 18th-century manor house is joyously traditional, with stone-flagged floors, open fires and bags of atmosphere.

A former hunting lodge on the Duke of Wellington's estate, the 'Welly' is a delightful, dog-friendly gastropub with bedrooms that mix rustic chic and modern comforts, impressive cooking of local ingredients, and an in-house deli.

The quintessential local gastropub in a Wealden village never ceases to please readers, with imaginative food, four good bedrooms and a warm, friendly ambience.

'People come here for the food, and for good reason,' says a Guide insider of this buzzy pub with rooms, which is 'very much ye olde village inn, with rustic furniture and roaring fires under the beams'.

'The Inkin brothers know how to run hotels,' concludes a reader of this welcoming pub with rooms in an enchanting Cornish fishing village. 'There is nothing that needs improving.

This is a proper village inn with locals enjoying pints in the bar, scrubbed tables, robust food and comfortable, homely bedrooms.

The neon sign outside this former steward's house in a 1,000-acre deer park 'pretty much sets the tone for what to expect in this unique and interesting pub' which combines 'unusual, captivating artwork' with 'a real pub where locals come to play pool and chat', say inspectors.

To find a gem in a quiet corner of the visitor-thronged Lake District is not easy, but this smart village inn in the lovely Lyth valley offers 'top-notch food', 'great service' and country-style bedrooms.

In an enchanting village, this coaching inn impresses with its cosy beamed bar, indulgent bedrooms with private patio, and Michelin-starred chef James Mackenzie's spin on classic British dishes in the restaurant.

In a lovely Suffolk village, this wonky, yellow-painted, timber-frame inn is an inviting place, with log fires, appealing, characterful bedrooms, and a mix of pub classics and more adventurous dishes served in the bar, restaurant and alfresco.

A 'haven of peace and calm, with excellent pub food and friendly, efficient service,' this 18th-century inn stands beside a Saxon church in a stunning village in Teasdale.

Inventive cooking of beautifully presented dishes impress at this gastropub overlooking the Evenlode valley, with four rooms that are smart but not ostentatiously 'designer'.

'People come here for the food, and for good reason,' says a Guide insider of this buzzy pub with rooms, which is 'very much ye olde village inn, with rustic furniture and roaring fires under the beams'.

With its wing armchairs, antique settles, warm lighting, and Farrow and Ball palette, the bar of this 19th-century ironstone and limestone village pub-with-rooms is reassuringly cosy and welcoming.

Rising phoenix-like from the ashes of a conflagration, Andrew Pern's thatched village gastropub retains its joyful eccentricity, with quirky, rustic bedrooms in converted farm buildings, while Mr Pern's modern Yorkshire cooking has lost none of its spark.

The fun, hip, relaxed ethos of this pub with exceptional-value rooms on the edge of the Fonthill Estate is evident from the minute you walk in the door. Guide insiders couldn't believe the buzz when they arrived at this 'comfy, characterful place' in the afternoon, long after lunch.

There's a wealth of olde worlde character at this 17th-century village inn, with smart contemporary bedrooms in a purpose-built barn, exciting gastropub cooking and wood-fired pizzas in summer in the lovely garden.

Steep stairs lead to characterful beamed bedrooms at this family-run inn in a rural Dartmoor village, where an eclectic menu mixes classic pub grub with some impressively gastro dishes, served by friendly efficient staff.

Inventive cooking of beautifully presented dishes impress at this gastropub overlooking the Evenlode valley, with four rooms that are smart but not ostentatiously 'designer'.

'People come here for the food, and for good reason,' says a Guide insider of this buzzy pub with rooms, which is 'very much ye olde village inn, with rustic furniture and roaring fires under the beams'.

Friendly, unfussy, effortlessly stylish, Charles and Edmund Inkin's dining pub is an 'effortlessly stylish' base from which to explore some of Cornwall's best scenery on the coastal path.

Huddled below wooded hills, beside a stone bridge over the River Monnow, this whitewashed former 17th-century coaching inn is delightfully at ease in the landscape.

Close to West End shops and theatres, this pub with rooms has a relaxed vibe, a pavement terrace, stripped-back chic, a first-floor dining room serving modern dishes alongside classics, comfortable bedrooms over three floors, and pleasant, efficient staff.

A 'laid-back, fire-in-the hearth, village pub atmosphere' prevails at this charming thatched gastropub with riverside guesthouse on the edge of Salisbury Plain.

A 'popular pub in a beautiful village', this 15th-century coaching inn with its old arched carriageway has been beautifully made over in casual-chic style. It was a second venture for Dan Brod and Charlie Luxton, with Matt Greenlees (see also The Lord Poulett Arms, Hinton St George, and The Bath Arms, Horningsham).

Expect a cheerful welcome at this gastropub-with-rooms, which stands by a bridge over the Union Canal in a conservation village.

Behind a handsome 18th-century façade, this former village inn overlooking the green is a contemporary drop-in bar and restaurant with stylish rooms, offering a mix of pub classics and more imaginative dishes.

The quintessential local gastropub in a Wealden village never ceases to please readers, with imaginative food, four good bedrooms and a warm, friendly ambience.

With its wing armchairs, antique settles, warm lighting, and Farrow and Ball palette, the bar of this 19th-century ironstone and limestone village pub-with-rooms is reassuringly cosy and welcoming.