A beautiful English inn, a 17th-century cider house made of ancient stone that sits on the green in a Cotswold village with free-range hens strutting their stuff and a family of ducks bathing in the pond. Inside, locals gather to chew the cud, scoff great food and wash it down with Cotswold ales. The fire burns throughout the winter, you get low ceilings, painted stone walls, the odd settle, country rugs on flagstone floors. Nicely priced bedrooms have lots of colour and style. Those in the main house have more character, those in the courtyard are bigger (and quieter). You’ll find painted wood, pretty fabrics, rustic furniture, spotless bathrooms; most have great views, too. Breakfast and supper are taken in a pretty dining room (exposed stone walls, pale wood tables), while you can lunch by the fire in the bar on devilled kidneys, grilled mackerel, a plate of British cheeses. There are lovely unpompous touches like jugs of cow parsley in the loo. There’s loads to do, too: antiques in Stow, golf at Burford, circular walks through gorgeous country. The front terrace teems with life in summer.
