The Stagg Inn

At the meetings of two ancient drovers’ roads, close to the Welsh border, Steve and Nicola Reynolds’s rural village dining-pub-with-rooms has been a foodie destination for more than 20 years. Step inside and you will find a cosy local, its beams festooned with hops and novelty jugs. The menu is chalked up on a board with no pretension, although Steve’s cooking, using local ingredients, is exemplary. Almost everything is made on the premises, including the crisps, served with vinegar foam. Typical dishes include Springfield chicken breast with coppa, Puy lentils and potato dauphinoise. There is a separate menu of vegan and vegetarian dishes, and one for kids. Breakfast is good, too: ‘I love the home-made marmalade.’ Bedrooms above the pub have character, but can be noisy on a big Stagg night. For quiet, go for one at the Georgian-cum-Victorian vicarage a quarter of a mile away, with a garden and croquet lawn. They are traditionally furnished in the style of a private home, and Winterton has an in-room slipper bath. All the rooms have fresh milk, ground coffee, and a minibar of drinks at pub prices.