Helen Browning's Royal Oak

“We’re farmers first and foremost. Providing hospitality is, at heart, really a hobby, something we want to do. We value our raw ingredients – and who they’re produced by – and we treat them with a very light touch in the cooking process to keep the integrity of the flavour. Equality is very important to us; we are a woman-dominated business, and most of the key skills and standards are set by women. There’s also no obvious pay differential at any level between genders. Our produce from our organic farm is highlighted on the very seasonal, ever-changing menu.”

Slow Eastbrook roast pork belly carbonara with penne and Parmesan; rare Eastbrook roast beef with Bishopstone watercress and truffle oil salad; and homemade gnocchi with village wild garlic and burrata.

With its rambling and eclectically furnished rooms, book-lined walls, views over farms and countryside, and wonderful, soulful food, this is one of the great places to sit and while away the Wiltshire hours. We’ve loved this champion of organic farming for many years and it’s great to see it still at the top of the pile. They are currently planting fifty acres of agroforestry – approximately 20,000 trees – so that livestock can graze beneath and between. The trees’ nuts and fruit (walnuts, apricots, soft fruit, perry pears, among others) will all be available for consumption via the pub and through local markets and processors. The stuff of legend.