Tess of the d’Urbervilles skirted this stone-built 16th-century inn, named the Sow and Acorn in Thomas Hardy’s novel, but locals and visitors today know better.

Between the High Street and the River Stour, this informal inn occupies a ‘handsome’ Georgian house well placed for exploring Hardy country.

Imaginative pub food and wood-fired summertime pizzas combine with upmarket country comforts at this quirkily renovated roadside inn.