The Brown Horse Inn

“The Brown Horse Inn prides itself on using fresh homegrown produce. Anything we do not source from our estate is purchased from local farms within a five-mile radius. Owners Steve and Karen have developed the surrounding land and vegetable gardens to supply both The Brown Horse Inn and its sister property, the Lyth Valley Country Inn, with all their vegetables and herbs. We also farm our own game, such as pheasants and partridges. Our menu is adapted for each season to use fresh and seasonal produce. We have our own chickens so we are able to source our own fresh eggs.”

Hake with crushed Jersey Royals, English asparagus and parsley cream; fillet of salmon with sautéed Jersey Royals, baby beetroot, pak choi and dill yoghurt; and Winster Estate lamb cobbler with blue cheese scones and caramelized carrots.

This was one of those places we stumbled into for a pint after a long walk, ordered some ham and eggs, and didn’t realize was going to be in any way special till we went out to the beer garden and found a chap brewing beer. This was 2011, when such things were simply not usual. Then came the food: thick gammon, slow cooked and “pulled” from pigs whose relatives we could see from the table under a quivering, super-fresh poached egg, breadcrumbed and quite beyond delicious with historic chips. Lovely dining room inside too. Oh, and the beer was superb.