Britain’s Best Pubs for a winter walk
Published 17 November 2025

The Applecross Inn is legendary for its food, craic and location. At the end of the nail-bitingly vertiginous Bealach Na Bà Pass, it’s the highest and one of the hairiest passes in Britain – and a highlight of the famous North Coast 500 road trip. A sign at the bottom reads ‘normally impassable in wintery conditions.’ The less intrepid can curve around the coast from Sheildaig.

Run by Judith Fish MBE since 1989, this whitewashed pub with rooms attracts a steady stream of bikers and campervan holidaymakers ready for a nerve-calming dram (there are over 50 malt whiskies on offer) or a pint of ale from the locally owned Applecross Brewery. Outside, a smattering of picnic tables huddle above a rocky beach with dreamy wide-angle views over to the Isle of Skye and Raasay, while a converted silver airstream caravan (the Inn-Side Out) offers fish and chips, ice cream and coffee to go.

Inside, it’s properly old-school, shabby but not chic: red carpets, orange pine panelling, the bar strung with fairy lights, a large wood-burner. The menu naturally showcases local seafood: Applecross Bay prawns or langoustines swimming in hot, garlicky butter; plump hand-dived scallops; local oysters; smoked salmon and crab. In terms of portion size, read: huge. Haggis flambéed in Drambuie is a plate-scraping show-stealer, while a luxurious special of seafood linguine in Champagne butter sauce is worth the hefty price tag. The menu also includes excellent fish and chunky chips (haddock, of course, as this is Scotland) alongside steaks, burgers, Thai curry and vegetarian chilli. Desserts are in the same vein, huge portions of pub classics ranging from fruit crumble to cranachan, a muddle of fresh raspberries, cream, whisky, oats and meringue. 

Famed locally for its food and drink, the Parkers Arms sits on a stretch of the B6478 as it unwinds across the Trough of Bowland, not far from the river Hodder. Locations don't get much more rural than this, and it's all the more gladdening to find the interior hasn't been suffocatingly boutiqued. 

In 2021, The Hairy Bikers stopped in here, and helped turn the curried mutton pie into a viral sensation, and it remains true that the pies are a powerful part of the draw – majestic constructions of exemplary pastry, crusts crimped, the glaze shining them up like burnished armour, the insides generously filled with good things.  Otherwise, fish from Morecambe Bay is worth considering, perhaps roasted sea bass with foraged samphire and Ormskirk potatoes. Start with a single whopping hand-dived Hebridean scallop in a butter of its own roe and garlic, or salt cod fritters in lemon mayo, and close the deal with cherry frangipane tart and matching ice cream.

Simple lunches for intrepid walkers offer sanctuary from the Lancashire rain-pelt. The Bowland brewery's ales are a mainstay of the drink offer,  while wines are an accessibly priced classic selection.

With forested hills sloping onto fields of grazing sheep and the Gothic remains of Byland Abbey towering over the entrance, this pub with rooms is a dream ticket – no wonder it was snapped up by chef Tommy Banks (the Black Swan at Oldstead is nearby). Inside, there’s a little bar with a snug for those wanting a drink, but the main action takes place in the three dining rooms, one of which is the former piggery – an expansive room with beams, giant flagstones and a double-facing log-burning stove, all illuminated by a conservatory-style skylight. The mood is relaxed and staff stay on top of their tasks, while cute details in the handsome finishes speak of Tommy Banks’ pedigree.

The food also makes a connection to the Banks family farm (without labouring the point), and chef Charlie Smith serves up a procession of seriously appealing, modern pub-style dishes – an incredibly original Dexter steak tartare, perhaps, cut into uniform nuggets resembling translucent rubies decorated with grated wild horseradish, fermented peppers and smoked bone marrow. Elsewhere, there might be a light, elegant plate of smoked Pablo beetroot with ewe’s curd, preserved Yorkshire rhubarb and linseed crackers for texture. Some of the meaty main courses such as a pork rib chop with fermented mushroom béarnaise could do with a little finessing, although fish dishes hit the spot – judging by a pitch-perfect serving of cod with a splendid mussel cream sauce and purple-red potatoes on the side.

Everything is executed with flair, professionalism and a deep respect for local ingredients – and that extends to the dazzling roasts served for Sunday lunch (check out the rare-breed Berkshire pork and Herdwick lamb from the family farm, just two miles away). If you're looking for real value, however, order the mighty Dexter cheeseburger with fries, plus a pint of Yorkshire-brewed ale and a shared dessert – say a soft-serve sundae topped with Douglas fir, blackcurrant and white chocolate. Aside from real ale, drinks include seasonal cocktails, homemade libations and a short but decent selection of wines with plenty by the glass.

With its creeper-covered frontage, enchanting terraces and beautiful village setting on the Longleat Estate, this handsome and substantial inn with rooms (circa 1736) is a dream ticket – especially when the sun is shining. Whatever the season, everyone feels right at home in the tasteful shabby-chic country house interiors – thanks to soft, warm lighting (candles, lamps), winter fires, vintage finds and walls layered with old prints and paintings. A public bar caters for drinkers, while those who’ve bagged a polished wood table in one of the small dining rooms can indulge in a fulsome line-up of pub classics and more creative ideas based on carefully sourced produce.

Everyone enjoys the cider-battered fish and chips, and the 'Beck burger' (dry-aged smashed patties in a glazed sesame bun), but those with more inquisitive palates home in on exemplary starters such as Wye Valley asparagus served with chilli and lime butter, heritage tomatoes and smoked salt with wild garlic emulsion – a dish that opened our late-May dinner. To follow, roasted Brixham monkfish was teamed with Jersey Royals, a crispy courgette flower and a dill, orange and caviar dressing, while a botanical Eton mess with violet cream, rose meringue, lemon and elderflower cake, lavender gel and raspberry sorbet provided the ideal finale.

Friendly, professional staff are perfectly on point, and the decently priced, wide-ranging wine list (arranged by style) offers plenty of interesting options by the glass and carafe. In addition, there are 16 individually designed bedrooms in the main house and stable block.

Only a few miles from Hay-on-Wye, this former drovers’ inn close to the Welsh border is so peaceful and secluded that it's no surprise many visitors remark on the ‘spectacular setting’. Sympathetically renovated and reopened in 2021 by local regenerative food and farming company Wild by Nature, the pub has a timeless charm. Inside, the split-level dining rooms have thick stone walls, wonky-beamed ceilings, slate floors and a large open fireplace. Outside, a large, pretty garden offers tables with stunning views under the watchful presence of Herefordshire’s imposing Black Hill.

A strong connection to the land and a deep respect for ingredients shine through the seasonally changing menu. Dining here is farm-to-table and nose-to-tail, with ingredients grown or reared at a nearby farm owned by the restaurant group. Almost everything, from the charcuterie to the cheese biscuits, is made in-house. Whether this is a wild garlic soup with a fried hen’s egg and prosciutto, Black Mountain hogget and merguez with white beans and green sauce, or a buttermilk pudding with rhubarb jelly, hyper–local ingredients are treated with a respect and care that enables their flavours to sing. 

Everyone has a good word to say about the friendly and attentive staff, while drinks feature local beers and ciders as well as a short list of minimal intervention wines, which offers a better choice by the bottle than the glass. Accommodation is in four bespoke 'wild cabins' in the grounds of the pub.

Halfway up the Southern Upland Way, alongside the Galloway Forest park, the Clachan is in a world of its own. Get off the M74 and turn left at Gretna Green. A whitewashed village inn with slate floors, antique panelling and a bar festooned with dried hops, it runs to a template that will have your metropolitan friends turning green with envy. The bothy takes the overspill from the main dining area – and there is nearly always overspill, so popular is the locally sourced, smartly presented cooking.

A game-season starter might partner Gelston partridge with pickled pear, golden raisins and a hash brown done in duck fat, or look to potted shrimps with pickles of kohlrabi and cucumber. Loin of the local venison goes into a labour-intensive main course with a pie of the braised shank, with fondant swede and red cabbage for company, while the marine option might team monkfish and mussels against a backdrop of celeriac, 'nduja, black olives and samphire.

At the end, there might be buttermilk panna cotta with rhubarb and gingerbread, or a platter of Scottish cheeses with oatcakes and chutney. The short wine list is founded on a bedrock of seven wines by the glass, from £3.25.

‘So consistent, cosy and welcoming,’ commented one regular visitor to this fine old 16th-century inn a short detour from some of the National Park’s best trails. Since taking over in 2019, the Barker-Jones family have given the oak-beamed, slate-floored interior a satisfying makeover, with lots of attention to detail (note the lovely hand-painted photos on the walls). ‘You would feel welcome to just pop in for a drink,’ noted a reporter, but it would be a sin to miss the pub’s main attraction – its menu of carefully sourced local and seasonal food.

The kitchen delivers ‘deep full-on flavours’ across the board, from hunks of warm home-baked bread with Netherend butter and bowls of verdant pea soup topped with seasonal ramsons to panna cotta with rhubarb and shortbread or treacle tart given extra zing with confit orange, candied zest and crystallised ginger ice cream. In between, Jail Ale-battered haddock with triple-cooked chips is a winner, likewise the cider-braised West Country pork fillet and the stone bass and Teignmouth mussels with fennel, samphire and mussel velouté. It’s also worth working up an appetite for the effusively praised Sunday lunch with its offer of roast moorland sirloin and the like. 

Service from really professional, welcoming staff is all you could wish for, as is the wide-ranging drinks list, which covers everything from local Dartmoor Ale to classic cocktails and a small but varied list of mostly Old World wines.

Ambleside is well served by the Drunken Duck. It is not one of those pubs that has left its drinking side behind (not with that name); instead, it throws a welcoming arm around locals in an atmosphere of free-and-easy conviviality. That said, an appreciable attempt has been made to give the dining area its own identity with some framed art prints of flowers, a festooning of dried hops, and an open-to-view kitchen. Last booking for food is 8pm.

Staff are expertly clued-up, not least with knowledge of the Barngates beers brewed on site. The food is distinguished by nutritious heartiness, seen to impressive effect in a vegetarian main course of roasted cabbage and mushrooms topped with capers and horseradish, served with potato cakes, which might be preceded by a fricassée of Jerusalem artichokes with apple, black garlic and sunflower seeds.

Homely main dishes make great cold-weather sustenance, even when the cold weather comes round in late June: a bowl of fortifying marjoram-scented rabbit stew arrives with chunky veg, potent gravy and a cloud of lovely mash. Sides of perfectly textured chips and aïoli will help fill any holes.

In the context, the afters seem pleasantly light: yoghurt mousse and rhubarb sorbet team up for a refreshing finish, under a summery dusting of dried raspberries, or there may be a raspberry and fig version of Bakewell pudding. Gluggable wines by the glass head up a no-nonsense list.

Part of Charles and Edmund Inkin’s 'Eat, Drink, Sleep' trilogy – which also includes the Gurnard’s Head and the Old Coastguard in Cornwall – this ever-popular pub with rooms is, in many ways, an archetypal dream of a country inn. It transports you to a half-imagined heyday of fireside sofas, knobbly brickwork, low beams and quarry tiled floors, with craft ales at the bar and fresh, home-cooked food buoyed up by produce from the kitchen garden.

For all its heritage vibes, the Griffin is also a slick, modern operation, with polished service and a properly cheffy kitchen (headed by Gwenann Davies). Her repertoire includes traditional ideas such as broccoli and Stilton soup or lamb rump with faggot, peas and red wine gravy alongside more contemporary dishes – perhaps a sticky glazed BBQ short rib with sweet, spiky kimchi, luscious sriracha mayo and fresh herbs, ahead of pearly, crisp-skinned hake with a crunchy, breadcrumbed crab and chorizo cake, set on an intense, velvety, red pepper purée.

Each dish is carefully considered, right through to dessert. A voluptuous white chocolate mousse with berry ice cream, fresh raspberries and crunchy, bittersweet honeycomb provided a satisfying end to our most recent visit. Sunday lunch is an ultra-traditional feast featuring meat from the lowland hills, greenery from the garden and plenty of homely touches. In addition to real ales, drinkers can pick from a fair-sized wine list that has been annotated with personality as well as knowledge; the numerous options by the glass are well worth considering. 

Named after a brooding rocky promontory which is said to resemble the grotesque head of a gurnard, this gloriously remote clifftop inn is unmistakable, with its moniker emblazoned on the roof and its mustard-yellow exterior positively gleaming in the sunshine. Inside, all is cosily weatherproof, with open fires and comfy sofas for those who fancy a pint of real ale or cider in the bar. There’s an equally unfussy vibe in the dining room, where vivid primary colours, scrubbed-wood tables and paintings set the tone. Given the location, it’s no surprise that locally landed seafood is a mainstay of the menu – and that includes the ugly old gurnard from time to time. More likely are dishes such as cod paired with braised beef short rib, roasted shallot and gremolata or hake jazzed up with a global grab-bag of vada pav, aubergine pickle, dukkah and coriander. Otherwise, home in on duck leg with wild garlic and goat’s cheese orzo or roast broccoli with nettle and Stilton purée. Desserts are the heart-warming, comforting kind – perhaps sticky toffee pudding topped with a dollop of Cornish clotted cream for good measure. The owners’ slogan is ‘eat, drink, sleep’, so expect some idiosyncratic libations and guest rooms for those wanting to stay over.

Slaggyford's finest, the Kirkstyle, has been a watering hole since the 19th century, although it did service as the local rectory for many centuries before that. In ravishing open moorland near the Cumbrian border, it capitalises on its rugged location by bringing in pedigree produce from across the county of Northumberland. Pasture-raised sheep and cattle, together with seasonal game and fish, adorn Connor Wilson's enterprising menus, and the immaculate presentational style is full of contemporary chic, although it doesn't occlude the essentially straightforward approach to its distinguished ingredients.

A party who undertook an intrepid three-hour drive weren't disappointed, but instead sang the praises of a pigeon pie starter in cherry gravy, as well as the concluding Darling Blue (cheese) panna cotta with plums and walnuts ('a work of alchemy'). Lucky locals also take full advantage of this 'fantastic community hub'. Diners might kick off with a scallop alongside mushroom and spelt ragoût and hollandaise, while mains pump up the volume for pork collar and crispy jowl with carrot and fermented hispi, or pollock and mussels with celeriac and kale. There are, of course, crowd-pulling Sunday roasts, and if you're after something offbeat to finish, look to madeleine with blackberries and woodruff.

The magnificent wine list wouldn't let the side down at a Mayfair boutique, albeit at mark-ups that Mayfair hasn't seen in half a century. French classics lead the charge, but are followed by a Brazilian Chardonnay, a German Pinot, Swiss Dôle, Uruguayan Tannat – it's all good.

Named in honour of its original owners, this picture-perfect country pub is now in the hands of Alistair Myres (the man behind Rafters restaurant across the border in Sheffield). He sees his new acquisition as a ‘trip down memory lane’ and a chance to celebrate the virtues of the traditional country local. A central horseshoe bar and tap room nods to the history of the place and is where the drinkers congregate to chat, drink pints of local ale, and play dominoes or cards. For a menu of well-tried pub classics, head to the main dining areas.

A starter of confit duck terrine with pickled plums from the garden resembled a coarse rillette and was perfectly seasoned. For main course, we missed out on the best-selling beef-cheek suet pudding, but our choices both hit the mark: calf’s liver cooked pink as requested and served with streaky bacon, buttered mash and onion gravy, while pan-fried plaice fillets came herbed potatoes, broccoli and tomato and chive beurre blanc – a textbook example of fresh fish cooked properly.

Desserts could be Arctic roll with roast peaches or fig Bakewell tart with poached pears and Chantilly cream. Service is attentive and engaged without being overbearing, prices are very fair, and a short but well-priced wine list matches the food admirably.

Tucked away in a remote valley in the southwest corner of the North York Moors National Park, Hawnby is an estate village of mellow sandstone, with a church, a pub and a village store. John Wesley visited here in 1757 calling it ‘one of the pleasantest parts of England’ – and we agree. Surrounded by forest and the heather-covered Hawnby Hill, it is a beautiful spot attracting walkers and shooting types who pay handsomely for a day on the estate’s grouse moor. The Owl (a former drover’s inn) sits at the top of the village and gives a commanding view over this stunning countryside.

Here Sam Varley, who previously ran Bantam in Helmsley, has created a welcoming retreat, a place to come for unfussy food and a comfortable bed for the night. Whether you eat in the stone-flagged bar in front of a warming stove, the dining room or the splendid terrace on sunny days, you'll find crowd-pleasing dishes such as chicken, leek and bacon pie or pork T-bone with roasted peach, green beans and pine-nut vinaigrette. Back in the day, cheap monkfish was often passed off as scampi; nowadays it’s a luxury fish and Varley’s monkfish scampi with curry mayo is fabulous.

Also expect devilled kidneys on toast, piles of hot, melting cheese gougères and cracking Sunday lunches – generously sliced aged sirloin of beef with horseradish cream, rolled shoulder of Yorkshire lamb or game birds in season (red-legged partridge or pot-roast grouse, perhaps). Puddings might be a refreshing grapefruit and Campari sorbet or a homely rhubarb sponge and custard. To drink, there are hand-pulled Yorkshire ales, while low-intervention wines figure prominently on a list that offers plenty by the glass.

Hayfield in the Peak District was the birthplace of Arthur Lowe, Dad's Army's Captain Mainwaring, and is a favoured rest-stop for those tramping the Derbyshire hills. At its heart, the stone-built Pack Horse aims to be more than just the standard village pub, with a conscientious ethos of sustainable supplies from local sources, ranging from meat butchered only four miles away to unimpeachable regional fresh produce.

Menus follow the rhythm of the seasons (as celebrated in the kitchen's own cookbook) and the food has the kind of contemporary appeal that makes the place a destination. Glazed High Peak lamb belly appears surprisingly in a starter with a leafy salad and yoghurt, while scallops in brown butter gain an edge from pickled apple and kohlrabi.

Fish is generally handled with assurance, producing a main course of charcoal-roasted halibut with mushroom and smoked bacon bourguignon and pommes Anna accompaniments, while similar inspiration from the French provincial cookbook informs a dish of pork belly with a cassoulet of trotter and beans plus a salsa verde dressing. The charcoal oven comes into its own on Wednesdays, when a special menu includes Barnsley chops and rump steak.

To finish, there might be blood-orange and olive-oil cake with whipped ricotta or salted-caramel custard tart and almond Chantilly. Quality growers abound on the inspiring wine list, which opens with small glasses at £5.70, before darting acquisitively around both hemispheres.

For those in the know, the Queen’s Arms and its green and pleasant surrounds are more than just a handy pit stop near the A303 – they are a destination in their own right. In 2020, local resident and Ballymaloe alumnus Doune Mackenzie-Francis took on the pub with her family, transforming it into a model of contemporary country elegance. 

Along with charmingly renovated bedrooms and a cottage to rent, there’s a ‘pub hub’ offering coffee and provisions in lieu of a village shop. A rose-fringed garden and pleasant terrace allow visitors to drink in glorious views while inside, flagstone floors, open fires and the day’s papers on the bar make for an inviting space to lounge or dine after walking the Corton Denham Ridge.

In the kitchen, head chef Rich Townsend (who hails from the Newt, near Bruton) strikes an artful balance between pub classics and proper cooking. Refreshing tomato terrine with Westcombe ricotta and earthy lovage pesto wouldn’t feel out of place in a fancier establishment, but avoids being prissy. Chicken and mushroom pie comes stuffed with full-flavoured ceps, while the aged beef burger patty is paired with thick-cut smoked bacon from down the road and a potato bun made in-house. Pub classics are moored around the £20 mark and don’t require sides but it would be a shame to miss the crispy smashed pink fir potatoes adroitly seasoned with salt and vinegar.

Cocktails take up more real estate on the drinks menu than beers but a very good £10 ‘marg of the month’ – ours with a dash of spicy jalapeño syrup – is justification of sorts. Wines are a rung above the average pub line-up, with bottles starting at just under £30.

Off the beaten track, and not an easy place to find, this 16th-century half-timbered building stands on the banks of the river Lugg, positioned by an old stone bridge on the Mortimer Trail (a 30-mile walking route from Ludlow to Kington). Inside, a warren of heavily beamed rooms with wonky floors and open fires provides nooks for a quiet tête-a-tête and separate spaces for louder crowds or those with their four-legged friends; the terraced garden comes into its own on fine days. Service is friendly and welcoming. In the kitchen, Andy Link and his team take sustainability, ethical sourcing and food miles seriously, seeking out the very best that the region has to offer from local farms and artisan suppliers, backed up by their own kitchen garden (and their own hens). We noticed that lunchtime regulars tended to favour the perfectly cooked rare-breed Herefordshire steak sandwich with truffle chips, but we enjoyed a light meal of crispy garlicky Herefordshire snails with truffle mayo, followed by eye-catching river trout cured in beetroot and local Chase gin, plus a delightful poached pear accompanied by a scoop of assertive blue-cheese ice cream to finish. Many other items have been singled out for praise, from a generous piece of grilled and lightly caramelised cod served on a pile of peas and mangetout with a lovely lovage sauce to a dish of chicken with courgettes, garden chard and wild herb pesto that 'had some body’. For afters, readers have endorsed the nettle cake and the rhubarb purée with 'custard mousse'. A good chunk of the decently priced wine list is vegan or vegetarian – though given the impressive ethos of the place, there are surprisingly few English offerings.

Is this old whitewashed Northumbrian inn a pub-lover's paradise? Its location by the beach is perfect for long walks along the unspoiled coast, the village green is adjacent for outdoor pints, there's a real fire for winter-warming, and an accomplished microbrewery for great ale all year round. Dogs are welcome (though if noisy, they'll be politely but firmly asked to sit outside), there's regular folk music too, and the interiors are all rough-hewn stone walls, wooden floorboards and fairy lights.

From the snack selection (fancy olives, Sesame Snaps, bars of Green & Black’s chocolate) to the impressive output from the little kitchen, it's clear that owner Christine Forsyth cares deeply about food. The specials board might include handmade Moroccan vegetable pies and bratwurst in a pretzel bun with sauerkraut and crispy onions but the highlight of the main lunch menu are the sandwiches stuffed full of brilliantly fresh local crabmeat. The ploughman's with locally made seeded sourdough is also a treat.

In the evenings, the options are a little heartier – ribeye steak with red onion marmalade, crispy potatoes and salt-and-vinegar greens is the headline act, although Saturday night is all about pies. Made all the better with a pint of their subtly salty Sea Dog stout.

It could be just another whitewashed roadside inn, briefly glimpsed along the A149 as you drive past, but the White Horse is something special. Set on the marshes, it provides one of the best views along the coast and manages an impressive balancing act between pub and restaurant. A rustic public bar caters for drinkers who can spill out onto the front courtyard when the sun shines, while the light-filled conservatory dining room and terrace maximise the views – big skies, tidal creeks, little boats.

Here, chef Fran Hartshorne presents a strong 'when in Norfolk' case for choosing the exceptional mussels, half a dozen oysters served classically or tempura, dressed Cromer crab or delicious smoked salmon from the tiny Staithe Smokehouse on the premises. Elsewhere, pan-seared sea trout with leeks, local cockles, clams and brown shrimps, smoked cream and potato is a straightforward pleasure, as is marsh-grazed sirloin with Café de Paris butter and skin-on fries – one of the few meat options. For afters, the signature lemon tart with blueberries, Dann's Farm yoghurt sorbet and poppyseed crumb beckons.

If you want something more casual, head down to Marshside, the pub’s seasonal, alfresco hangout for a cocktail, glass of wine or beer plus a few small sharing plates – a robata-grilled scallop, devilled mussel crumpet or Cheddar doughnuts, say. You might, however, like to keep large plates of grilled lobster and chips or crayfish poutine to yourself. In both dining areas, the well-targeted, international wine list offers plenty by the glass.