A first foray into pub-keeping by the Pig group and just across the road from a full-grown Pig, this old stone village local has six stylish bedrooms under the eaves, cosy spaces for eating and drinking, and a menu of hearty, traditional pub fare with the odd more modern dish.

'Gardez la Foi' reads the Poulett family motto over the door of this thatched, ham-stone village pub, and the trio behind the Beckford group (see The Beckford Arms, Tisbury) have kept absolute faith with their winning concept here. The ambience is friendly and relaxed.

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.

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).

In a hamlet just 25 minutes from Bath, 'the Carps' is a 'very nice country pub' offering 'very good' food, and oodles of atmosphere in the stone-walled, beamed bar, with fire and log-burner.

With its own farm shop, brewery and spa barn with outdoor hot tub and sauna as well as a kiddies' playground, this 'buzzy boozer' is 'so much more than a pub with rooms', writes our inspector.

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.

The ancient stone-built Bath Arms in woodlands on the Longleat estate 'is a welcome sight after a long journey', and doesn't disappoint within, with 'appealing menus' 'attentive and pleasant staff' and great-value, well-decorated rooms.

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.

Serving cider since 1851, this honey-stone village pub has been attracting attention since a lockdown makeover by enthusiastic new owners. Contemporary-chic bedrooms have good fabrics, a Roberts radio, 100 Acres toiletries, views over gently rolling countryside.

In a village close to Bath, one of England's oldest inns offers characterful rooms and above-average pub fare.

On the Great Durnford Manor estate, where the great bustard has been reintroduced to Britain, this 19th-century boozer has been reinvented as a dining pub with locals bar, comfortable, contemporary rooms and a modern restaurant making exciting use of estate produce.

Down a single-track road on the edge of Dartmoor national park, this dog-friendly, ancient, thatched and whitewashed pub, with four individually designed bedrooms, is a local hub serving exceptional gastropub fare.

Across from the Guildhall, this former sports bar, now a gastropub with rooms, has been given an extensive makeover in Art Deco style, inspired by its glamorous 1920s incarnation as a cocktail bar.

This traditional dog friendly, child friendly village local and dining pub, with four rooms above and five in a garden annexe, has received a new lease of life under new owner Tom Downing.

Ideally situated beside Corsham Court at the heart of the village, this former coaching inn has smartly refurbished bedrooms, a friendly, casual ambience and a menu of pub classics and fancier dishes, using produce from the kitchen garden.

Still very much a village local, with four simple, tasteful bedrooms, this atmospheric 19th-century beamed pub, serving staples and more exciting dishes, has been given a new lease of life by the Chickpea Group.

An 18th-century part-thatched former tannery turned village ale house has been renovated in a style of rustic simplicity, with unfussy bedrooms and a dining room serving pub classics and more complex dishes.

A stroll from the quay, behind a quaint, jettied, black-and-white facade, a drop-in café, bar and restaurant has excellent pet-friendly bedrooms, approached via creaky, winding stairs.

In a small village on the Duchy of Somerset's estate, the Victorian Somerset Arms was relaunched in 2021 as an idealised rustic-chic country pub.

Our inspectors enjoyed their stay at Alex Morbey's honeyed-stone gastropub with thoughtfully designed rooms and excellent cooking in the busy restaurant.

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.

'Bags of character and a warm vibe' are on offer at this pub with rooms on an organic farm in a pretty l village on the Marlborough Downs.

'The Queen of Cotswolds cool Carole Bamford has again upped the ante at this sister property to Wild Rabbit (see Kingham),' writes our cub reporter.