The Owl, Hawnby, North Yorkshire
Seven months after it reopened under the new ownership of renowned Yorkshire chef Sam Varley, the Owl made it into both the Michelin Guide and the Good Food Guide last month. Depending on the time of year, meals can be taken on the sunny terrace, in the elegant dining room or in front of the fire in the stone-flagged bar. Expect creative dishes with a focus on local produce – spatchcock tandoori quail, “hog and hop” sausages, pork T-bone with roasted peach. The nine bedrooms have a cocoon-like feel with deep green walls and marshmallow-soft beds.
The Village Pub, Barnsley, the Cotswolds
A cosier pub with a glitzier sibling nearby (the Pig-in-the-Cotswolds, opening in September), the Village Pub reopened in June. In keeping with the Pig’s focus on all things foodie, the menu encompasses traditional bar snacks – pork pies, cockles and vinegar – alongside classic main dishes, such as smoked gammon and parsley sauce and rabbit, leek and bacon pie. The six rooms, tucked into the eaves, come with Egyptian cotton sheets and monsoon showers.
The White Horse, Dorking, Surrey
Established in the 13th century, the White Horse, one of Britain’s oldest coaching inns, reopened in May after a £4m renovation by Raymond Blanc’s Heartwood Inns group. Set on Dorking’s charming high street, the food in the buzzy restaurant is predictably excellent; simple dishes done well, from dressed Devon crab to slow-cooked pork and apricot roulade. Rooms are boutique-hotel slick with Roberts radios, fluffy robes and Bramley bathroom treats, plus doggy welcome packs for four-legged guests.
The Great Bustard, Wiltshire
Part of the Great Durnford Estate, this charming country pub reopened in June after a complete restoration, with 10 bedrooms named after birds that have been successfully reintroduced into the UK, such as the Great Bustard. Menus focus on a farm-to-table ethos with meats, game and vegetables from the estate and an excellent British cheese selection. Rooms are furnished with a mix of antique and contemporary pieces, while the Osprey Treatment room offers skincare treatments for face and body. Pop into the adjoining farm shop for foodie treats and organic spa products to take home.
The Packhorse, Newmarket, Suffolk
A stone’s throw from the racecourse, the Packhorse reopened after a two-month renovation period this summer, adding eight new rooms in an adjoining converted barn. The modern British menu – with excellent GF and vegan options – encompasses everything from 45-day dry-aged steaks to salads and a lip-smacking pineapple and rum tarte tatin. Bedrooms channel a rustic-glam vibe, with underfloor heating, rain showers and butter-soft linens, with dogs welcome in the new barn rooms.
The Black Horse, Climping, West Sussex
After a five-year closure, the 17th-century Black Horse reopened its doors last Easter after a major renovation that restored many of the original features, adding a pewter bar, deep, comfy sofas and a double-sided wood-burning stove. The dishes are standard pub fare – fish pie, homemade scotch eggs, sticky toffee pudding – accompanied by a good selection of Sussex wines, craft beers and ales. Rooms are elegantly furnished with muted wallpapers and sumptuously comfortable beds; two have rooftop balconies overlooking the surrounding fields.
The Buddle Smugglers Inn, Isle of Wight
One of the island’s best-loved and oldest inns reopened in spring after a four-month makeover, with work continuing on the four new bedrooms, available from 1 September. Behind the 16th-century stone frontage, the renovation works kept many of the original features, including the open fireplaces and exposed beams in the traditional bar. Menus make the most of IoW crab and prawns, with salads, sandwiches and seafood boards alongside pasta, risotto and steaks. Bedrooms are crisp in neutral shades with lovely sea views, and dogs are welcome if notified in advance.
The Stag & Huntsman, Hambleden, Buckinghamshire
Surrounded by the bucolic landscapes of the Hambleden Valley, the Stag reopened in January with new management and a Michelin-starred chef, Dom Robinson, at the helm. Lunches of welsh rarebit on sourdough or suppers of rigatoni with ’nduja and fennel are taken in the firelit bar and dining area, with classic roasts served on Sundays. Nine rustically styled rooms boast Harrison Spinks beds; two two-bedroom cottages are ideal for families.
The White Horses, Rottingdean, East Sussex
A former 18th-century coaching inn, rebuilt in the 1930s as a small hotel, the White Horses reopened in July, set right on Rottingdean’s pebbly seafront. The chic rooms have an elegant, art deco feel with crisp, cream décor and pops of colour – burnt orange, dusky blue – in the fabrics and drapes. Menus change seasonally, with a strong accent on locally caught fish, including sharing seafood platters and whole crab rarebit with excellent GF options and sinfully good puds – best taken on the sea-view terrace, right on the beach.
The Brackenrigg, Lake District
Opened in April, the Brackenrigg is set on the tranquil banks of Ullswater, a stone’s throw from its sister property, the family-friendly boutique hotel Another Place, The Lake. Guests can use the hotel’s restaurants, swimming pools and Kids’ Zone or paddle, stroke and glide across the lake with a range of kayaks, paddleboards and wet suits available to hire from the hotel. Or simply soak up the cosy pub ambience in the firelit bar, perfect for a post-walk pint. Dinners are hearty and locally sourced – Cartmel Valley venison burgers, sautéed fish of the day with samphire and sticky toffee pudding to die for. Of the seven chic bedrooms, six look over the lake, and dogs are welcome throughout.
