Gerry and Ann Price ‘set the standard’ at their ‘well-run’ pub/restaurant-with-rooms, where the ‘hands-on owners’ foster a hub-of-the-village atmosphere. It’s cemented by locals, who drop in throughout the day for a hand-pulled pint or coffee and a chat in the airy, bright, wood-floored bar with its old wine barrel, cartoons and prints of hares and pheasants. The like might show up in the muzak-free restaurant, where locally caught game features on the ‘excellent’ menu. Characteristic dishes: pigeon breasts, kohlrabi, sprouting broccoli, gin-poached cherries; haunch of red deer, shoulder croquette, preserved raspberries, asparagus, chocolate jus; all accompanied by a ‘serious’ wine list. Set well back from road noise, a courtyard garden is edged with ‘well-appointed, practical’ bedrooms. Named after something ‘personal’ in the owners’ lives, each is ‘bright and modern without being trendy’. ‘The bed was very comfortable, the shower excellent; we were especially impressed by the thoughtful design (double power points below the mirror, good soundproofing, etc).’ A leisurely breakfast (served till 11 am on the weekend) embraces thickly sliced toast, praiseworthy kedgeree, filter coffee. Wisley (RHS garden)is close by. (JS, CR)