The perfect tavern-hotels in the Cotswolds
An innovative wave of classy pubs-with-lodging have opened up in the United Kingdom, with fabulous rooms and great menus. Here we have a list of our 10 faves
Let's commence with The Porch House. This wonderfully extensive system of adjoining, historical inns seemed rather worn out when Brakspear bought it a couple of years ago. Its improvement has been welcomed with many thanks from local residents who adore the way traditional traits have been repurposed, with flagstone floors revealed and medieval beams sensitively cleansed. There’s a contemporary adjustment, too, with check chair covers and parquet sections on a number of walls. The House is still the product of a couple of distinct elements: a quaint pub with a boiler and a comfy and cosy pavilion extension and an official restaurant where the fantastic dining room features a wonderfully refurbished open fireplace.
Dominic Wood has injected the Maytime with a cutting edge vibe. At the time the twenty-six-year-old acquired this handsome pub in 2012, its indoors areas were bleak and run down. Shades of taupe right now offset the extended timber bar and zig-zagging beams. All around this core space are vibrant dining areas, one area next to a fireplace, yet another beneath a glass roof top. You’re in a rural idyll in honey-stone Asthall, yet dynamic Witney is only 15 minutes away.
Tucked down tiny roads eastwards from Cheltenham, Cold Aston is a pleasant small town that comes with an excellent pub dating back to the 17th century. That's an unusually lucky detail: The Plough had been closed down for 2 yrs when Laura and Nick Avery bought it a couple of years ago. Launched one year later, it’s a refurbishment success; cheered up yet still filled with charm at the front; supplying a modern pub space in previously abandoned areas at the back - and with imaginative touches for example chairs upcycled from wagon wheels. The Averys’ zeal for The Plough is visible. Laura maintains an operational front of house; Nick’s an ardent food connoisseur, supervising the kitchen area, relishing the community’s fresh produce and at times exchanging beer for veggies with nearby inhabitants.
A chic commune with striking shrubbery, Filkins had forgotten its pub until Lana and Sebastian Snow came. Its once cool and dark toned indoors areas have been improved by Sebastian’s sis, the fashionable Miranda Snow, who has fashioned a peaceful epicurean haven. Now A-listers like Kate Moss stay here at weekends. You stroll into a calming lounge and bar, all lumber and tenderness with open wooden supports, traditional leather sofas and an open fireplace. Not far away, the airy main dining-room is a tranquil space of cream and dull white, its flagstone floor made more inviting by scattered carpets. Sebastian is a cook, taught by Antony Worrall Thompson, who helmed his own eating place in the capital (Snows on the Green) just before being awarded acclaim at the Swan in nearby Southrop. He and his team shifted to Filkins 36 months ago.
In September 2014 the former Tollgate Inn reopened after a few months of makeover as The Wild Rabbit- reputedly costing £1.4 million - by brand new manager Lady Carole Bamford, better half of JCB colossus Anthony Bamford and owner of Daylesford natural and organic deli and spa close by. It is at this point a delightful sanctuary of significant Cotswold sophistication; all creams, uncovered stone and carefully aged wood. Behind an amazing bar area stretches a spacious dining area astonishingly fashioned to reproduce the dream farm kitchen.
