The Cat Inn

Andrew Russell has elevated innkeeping to a real ‘craft’: his popular 16th-century free house is well stocked with fare from local microbreweries and English vineyards. ‘Andrew is hands-on and welcoming; he knows all about hospitality, and it shows.’ There is ‘great attention to detail everywhere’: a ‘lovely’ log fire in the grate, posies on wooden dining tables; in the ‘well-equipped’ bedrooms, find ‘beautiful’ antique furniture, reading material, a capsule coffee-maker with fresh milk, ‘a well-stocked tea chest on the landing’. ‘Room One, our favourite, is spacious yet cosy, with a spotless bathroom. It overlooks the village church, whose tower is occupied by garrulous jackdaws.’ Chef Alex Jaquemin’s ‘buzzing’ restaurant has a ‘great atmosphere’. The ‘varied’, ‘decently priced’ menu has daily specials, perhaps roasted stone bass fillet, spätzle, brown shrimp, wild mushrooms. (Vegan options clearly marked.) Guide readers this year ‘cannot overstate how good the breakfast is’. Don’t let the name fool you: a ‘much-loved’ cocker spaniel greets newcomers to the bar, where dogs are welcomed. (Angie Davies, Barrie Wilkinson)