Owner George Dailey revitalised this honey-stone roadside pub, north of Oxford, from a tired boozer into a popular village hub. Guests in 2018 were impressed by the welcoming atmosphere and ‘very good evening meal, even after the Bell’s exceptionally busy lunch’. Steaks, wood-fired pizzas, pub classics and British dishes with an out-of-the-box twist have locals flocking for the food. In the pub, flagstone floors and 18th-century beams have been preserved; deep leather chairs are set around a large log fire. Bedrooms, ‘very comfortable and very clean’, are well stocked with tea- and coffee-making facilities and posh toiletries; a bath or a monsoon shower. Blenheim Palace is not far away.