The Pheasant Inn
Top of their game
Bucolic Berkshire downs
Boutique Berkshire bolthole the Pheasant Inn is the kind of country pub with rooms where we’d happily wait out the winter. With a ground-up makeover from designers Flora Soames and Octavia Dickinson, this 450-year-old former drovers’ rest has recently seen more cosmopolitan sorts flocking here for cookery that shows off the best of the North Wessex Downs’ farm finds and rooms with polished yet characterful Brit charm. But, it’s struck the Goldilocks principle in that locals settle by the fire for pints in equal numbers; it’s easily reached from London yet surrounded by greenery; and for a room the prices are just right.
Planes
From international hub Heathrow you’re just an hour’s drive away; the hotel can arrange transfers for £90 each way. Alternatively, Southampton has arrivals from main cities in Europe and is just an hour’s drive away.
Trains
The closest rail station is Hungerford, a 10-minute drive from the inn. Great Western Rail trains arrive direct from London Paddington in an hour, or from Bristol Temple Meads in 90 minutes.
Automobiles
Driving in from London is a doddle for minibreakers, a journey that clocks in at just two hours. Follow the M4 then exit at junction 14, from which the hotel is a minute’s drive; there’s free parking onsite.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
They haven’t designated the North Wessex Downs an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty for nothing: with their rolling chalk hills, thick woodland and picturesque pastures, and lasting literary clout as the backdrop for Thomas Hardy tomes, they’ll enchant you out of the cosiness of your room for brisk walks. And, the countryside is peppered with quaint villages and historic market towns. First, investigate Lambourn, long known for its equine excellence, has so many horse-training grounds in its orbit that the surrounding area is known as the Valley of the Racehorse. Then, go on the hunt for a treasured souvenir in gloriously Georgian Hungerford’s antique stores and markets – with more than 100 dealers, the Hungerford Arcade (26–27 High Street, Hungerford RG17 0NF) is a good place to start. Here, you can catch a narrowboat ride along the Kennet and Avon Canal; try Sally Narrowboats for day trips. On the banks of the Kennet you’ll also find Marlborough, a handsome town with architectural styles that range from half-timbers to grand redbricks. It’s at its most bustling on Wednesdays and Saturdays when market stalls are set up along the high street (the second widest in England, no less), as they have been for centuries. After pottering about, take diversions to Savernake Forest, which was given some structure by great gardener-of-old Capability Brown, and to see the mysterious Avebury Stones, 4,000 year-old Neolithic monuments that – unlike at sister site Stonehenge – you can wander around and see up close. Then, practice your ‘how d’you dos?’ for a visit to Highclere Castle, home to the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon and star location of Downton Abbey. It’s set in 1,000 acres of parkland (another Capability Brown legacy) and it’s open to the public for 60 to 70 days a year. Other regal hotspots in the area include Welford Park (open from 1 February to 5 March each year), famed for its Queen Anne manor and dainty dusting of snowdrops come spring, and Wickham House, a towering late-18th-century residence. There are meets year-round at Newbury Racecourse, and live music and events when the fillies aren’t flying round the track, so it’s worth seeing what’s on. And, for more tropical foliage, explore the Living Rainforest’s vast greenhouse just a 20-minute drive away.
