Six of the best country pubs with rooms
Featuring locally sourced meat and vegetables, open fireplaces and a lack of mobile phone reception
1. The Bell at Skenfrith
Monmouthshire
There are many winning things about this Monmouthshire pub – the “dreamy setting”, the “on-the-button” bedrooms, the jug of fresh milk that awaits your arrival – but it’s the “food that brings people here over and over”, said Condé Nast Traveller. Locally sourced meat and organic vegetables from The Bell’s own garden feature heavily on the well-thought-out menu. With no mobile reception, it’s a “place to really come and switch off”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
2. The Dorset Arms
Withyham, East Sussex
For a relaxing break at this time of year, you can’t beat a stay at a country pub with good food on-site. And this village inn on the Buckhurst Estate on the Sussex Weald certainly ticks all the boxes, said Andy Lynes in The Times. It has an open fire and exposed beams; there are “guest ales from Sussex brewers at the bar”; and the menu is a mix of pub classics and more refined dishes, such as roasted slip sole with seaweed butter. There are nine rooms, all with fine views.
3. The Fox Inn
Corscombe, Dorset
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
When his restaurant empire collapsed last year, chef Mark Hix retreated to Dorset – where he has now opened this inn, said Benjamin Parker in The Daily Telegraph. To look at, it’s the “epitome of a remote village pub”, but this is no standard rural boozer: among the menu’s treats are Brownsea Island rock oysters, and Himalayan salt-aged porterhouse. For now, there’s just one room to stay in – “Bill’s Annexe”, named after Hix’s grandfather – but “more accommodation is on the way”.
4. The Gunton Arms
Thorpe Market, Norfolk
This converted 18th century house is set in a 1,000-acre deer park in north Norfolk, said Andy Lynes in The Times. Inside there are comfy sofas and open fireplaces, and art by the likes of Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin on the walls. Chef Stuart Tattersall does much of his cooking over a fire in front of guests: dishes include Gunton red deer rump, and shoulder of lamb with bubble-and-squeak. The rooms all have views over the park, and many are “dog-friendly”.
5. The Rose & Crown
Romaldkirk, County Durham
A creeper-covered coaching inn near Barnard Castle, The Rose & Crown exudes a “well-judged sense of rustic charm”, said Helen Pickles in The Daily Telegraph. With so much to do in the area – walking, sailing, kayaking – it’s handy that the kitchen will make up a packed lunch for you. The food – which can be eaten in the dining room or the buzzy bar – is “no fuss, but definitely interesting”: think homemade spiced cauliflower soup and pan-fried loin of Teesdale lamb.
6. The Kingham Plough
Kingham, Oxfordshire
The Plough is what every pub should be, said Condé Nast Traveller: dependable, delightful and extremely good value. Run by a friendly, keen-to-please couple, it has an impressive selection of booze, first-rate bar snacks and extremely comfortable rooms. But most blissful of all is the breakfast: “excellent freshly ground coffee, Burford Browns with tangerine yolks, home-made bread and baked beans that don’t come from a tin”. It’s a bolthole, in short, that you won’t want to leave.
-
6 sturdy post-and-beam homes
Feature Featuring a wood stove in New York and hand-hewn beams in New Hampshire
-
The Naked Gun: 'a dumb comedy of the expert kind'
The Week Recommends Liam Neeson shows off his comedy chops in this reboot of Leslie Nielsen's crime spoof
-
King of Kings: 'excellent' book examines Iran's 1979 revolution and its global impacts
The Week Recommends Scott Anderson 'easily and elegantly' paints a picture of a century of Iran's history
-
Music reviews: Tyler Childers and Madonna
Feature "Snipe Hunter" and "Veronica Electronica"
-
Art review: Noah Davis
Feature Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, through Aug. 31
-
Beatriz Williams' 6 timeless books about history and human relationships
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Jane Austen, Zora Neale Hurston, and more
-
Book reviews: 'Clint: The Man and the Movies' and 'What Is Wrong With Men: Patriarchy, the Crisis of Masculinity, and How (Of Course) Michael Douglas Films Explain Everything'
Feature A deep dive on Clint Eastwood and how Michael Douglas' roles reflect a shift in masculinity
-
The easy elegance of Cap Ferret
The Week Recommends 'Elemental and otherworldly' destination is loved for its natural beauty