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The General Tarleton, North Yorkshire

Chef Tommy Banks, one of Yorkshire’s favourite foodie sons, is best known for his award-winning restaurant the Black Swan at Oldstead, and he also has deep pub roots. Actually, the Black Swan originally operated as a pub, with Banks working behind the bar at his family’s establishment before graduating to the kitchen. Recently, he opened Abbey Inn in Byland, and he has just started a hospitality arm dedicated to restoring other pubs across the UK. The first project is the eight-bedroom General Tarleton in Ferrensby village, near Harrogate. The cuisine is exceptional, with refined versions of traditional pub dishes made with local produce – the perfect fuel for walks along the river and into Nidd Gorge, a scenic local area.

Bat and Ball Inn, Oxfordshire

It’s dogs by the fire and dog collars at the bar at this charming pub in the village of Cuddesdon, best known for its clergy college. It launched at the start of the year by the owners of Lamb Inn in nearby Little Milton, and the culinary team at both locations gained experience at two-Michelin-star Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons down the road. The Bat and Ball is the more casual of the pair – it even features a dartboard – and menu items elevate classic pub food and enhance them with premium local produce. Five guest rooms have walls painted in deep fall colors to match the surrounding countryside, which is sandwiched between the Cotswolds and Chilterns.

King’s Arms, Lake District

This independently run inn, which relaunched at the end of August, is at the heart of the Lakeland village of Hawkshead, around the corner from the Beatrix Potter gallery and the Hawkshead Grammar School museum, where a young William Wordsworth carved his name into his desk. There’s plenty of history in the oak beams and slate floors at the King’s Arms too, which originates in the 1600s. At the dark-wood bar is a selection of regional ales including Coniston Old Man Ale and Cumbrian Ales Loweswater Gold, while the menu focuses on classics with Cumberland scotch eggs and beef wellington. The perfect meal to be enjoying after a hike up nearby Latterbarrow fell.

Wellington Hotel, Cornwall

Known affectionately as The Welly, this centuries-old coaching inn overlooks Boscastle Harbor on Cornwall’s dramatic north coast. A local brewery recently splashed millions doing it up, and the results are evident in the snug dining areas, intimate corners and stained glass panelling. The best rooms are the turret suites with freestanding baths, but every room come with local art on the walls and OS maps and a South West Coast Path national trail book for walks. The trail passes nearby: west to Tintagel Castle, legendary birthplace of King Arthur according to legend, or round past Pentargon waterfall. After a coastal hike, there’s pints of local ale by the fire and servings of fish and chips to look forward to, made with fresh local fish in ale batter.

Woolpack Inn, Hampshire

Fresh from a makeover by influential interior designer Nina Campbell, this country pub is the social hub in the tiny hamlet of Totford in the tranquil Candover valley. Set amid fields and forests, so chef Luke Stradling has plenty of local produce to draw on – supplemented by the pub’s sizeable vegetable garden, currently growing pumpkin, celeriac and winter leaves. As well as supplying almost all the vegetables on the menu, staff also contribute 20% of the harvest to community charities and shelters. Upstairs, eight guest rooms are themed after game birds, but fly fishing is the local star draw – angling for trout in the world renowned chalk stream of the River Itchen.

Fleur de Lys Inn, Dorset

Hospitality group Chickpea has mastered the contemporary inns with accommodation formula – excellent cuisine, friendly bar and keen prices for overnighters. The latest addition to the fold is the Fleur de Lys, a 17th-century inn in the village of Cranbourne. The novelist Thomas Hardy was a frequent visitor here and makes reference to it in Tess of the D’Urbervilles. The renovation reflects its period charm: hops hang over the large open fireplace, candles flicker on tables and, upstairs, the nine bedrooms are decorated in muted colours. Trails loop around Cranborne Manor, with dishes such as Brixham bass, venison chop and sticky toffee pudding to look forward to back at the pub afterwards.

The Penny Bun, North Yorkshire

Inspired by a fungus found in local woods, Penny Bun is a departure from your traditional boozer. With its earthen walls and earth-toned palette, the look is more wabi-sabi minimalism than traditional pub fixtures. Between Ilkley and Otley in the Yorkshire Dales, the new inn is part of the Denton Reserve, a 1,012-hectare estate undergoing an eco-friendly overhaul, focusing on carbon capture and sustainable agriculture. It provides many of the ingredients found on the menu at the Penny Bun, such as Tamworth pork croquette salad or beetroot gnocchi. The calming aesthetic particularly suits the five rooms (the plum one comes with a standalone tub), with deep beds to sink into after hikes on Ilkley Moor, just steps away.

The Ship, Norfolk Coast

Recently, Sisters Siobhan and Caitriona Peyton revitalized this historic coastal inn with nine beamed bedrooms in the village of Brancaster. The cooking here has Mediterranean influences, and while menus have a focus on seafood (less than a mile’s walk away), local game is the highlight in autumn. For Sunday lunch, expect roasted venison served with local wild mushrooms instead of the usual chicken or beef, while in the front bar settle in by the fire and enjoy a pork roll or monkfish scampi with a pint of local ale. Outside, the vast skies look particularly stunning at this time of year – look out for flocks of pink-footed geese – and trails cut through dunes and marshes.

The Leicester Arms, Kent

Across the road from the entrance to Penshurst Place, this historic pub is looking prettier than ever after a major renovation last year. It’s easy to see why it scooped Kent’s county prize at the national awards: there are plush armchairs by the fire in the bar, real Kentish ales from nearby Larkins, and cut-above cooking in the dining room. The menu highlights local produce, with lamb scotch egg and oysters from Whitstable, while the 11 botanically named bedrooms are decorated in an attractive heritage style. Four of them come with clawfoot tubs for post-walk soaks after a ramble around the Penshurst Estate past River Medway, lakes and giant oak trees.

The Swan, West Sussex

The two-and-a-half year refurbishment of this Grade II-listed coaching inn in Fittleworth on the South Downs was well worth it. Original features from its 14th-century roots mix with modern comfort in the bar, restaurant and 12 beautifully designed rooms – though it remains traditional, says the owner. Meals served in the wood-paneled, art-adorned dining room utilize seasonal local produce (foraged ceps and plum pudding on our visit) and lavish breakfasts are served in a barn in the pretty gardens. The old visitor books are fascinating: notable guests include JMW Turner, John Constable and Rudyard Kipling. There’s plenty to do nearby, from browsing antiques in local villages to downland walks, Petworth House and Arundel Castle.

Nevill Arms Inn, Leicestershire

With its honeyed hamlets, pretty market towns and rolling countryside, Welland Valley is in a region sometimes referred to as the Notswolds (like the Cotswolds but more affordable). Nevill Arms in the village of Medbourne was revamped in 2023, with 10 rooms (including four-posters) spread between the pub and former stables – and next year they’ll add a stone cottage next door too. On the food front, beef, pork and lamb are reared on the owner’s farm, while in the inky blue-painted bar there’s a changing selection of Langton ales on tap – the favorite of which is an amber bitter, Inclined Plane, named after the lift at nearby Foxton Locks.

New Inn Yealand, Lancashire

New owners Ben and Lauren Sandiford took on the running of this seven-bedroom village inn in April. Ben brought his chef experience to the kitchen, which now produces classy comfort food (shepherd's pie with mash and ewe’s cheese crumb or beef pudding) to be eaten in the rustic dining area beside the log burner. The bar attracts locals sipping on