GO-INN FOR GOLD
I visited the ‘UK’s best pub’ – it feels like a mini castle and there’s one dish you MUST order
One of its restaurant dishes is so good that it won an award this year
WHEN a dish is highlighted as award-winning on a menu, it’s enough to make me order it.
And I have no regrets in doing so.
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This richly-flavoured pie is only part of what helped earn The George Inn, close to Bath, its title of Pub of the Year in this year’s National Pub and Bar Awards.
But it's not just the plate in front of me that's helped earn this accolade, although the chunks of flakey fish crammed into every crevice of this well seasoned pastry case certainly hit the spot.
The rooms are quietly charming.
The wonky wooden floorboards are topped with four-poster beds and varnished bedside cabinets are decorated with traditional clocks, above which golden framed paintings hang.
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It all feels very historic - in a cosy way.
The 14th-century tudor-style building was once a wool store that hosted visitors who were travelling into the village for the annual wool fare.
It’s got more of a castle-like feel today, but it's clear the place has had a recent facelift, and not just in the bathroom, where fake plants hang from shelves and jazzy tiles decorate the floor.
There are handy USB ports above the sockets for easy phone charging and a smart TV so you can login to your Netflix account, as well as the usual creature comforts including tea and coffee making facilities, accompanied by homemade biscotti.
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The pub has definitely hit the sweet spot between maintaining its old world feel but with modern practicalities.
We stayed in Sedgemoor, which was one of a few dog-free rooms in the 13 bedroom inn.
Inside The Butcher's Hook, the stunning pub just a stone's throw away from Chelsea's Stamford Bridge
The whole place is very pooch-friendly and when I spied the green rolling fields stretching for miles behind the pub, I regretted not bringing my French bulldog, Dora (although I'm certain she would have barked like a maniac upon seeing the mounted deer's head on the restaurant wall).
I tried not to let the sunshine, streaming onto the courtyard garden, sway my opinion of the place.
But even without the warm glow, the views across fields upon fields make it a great spot to sink a few pints, whatever the weather.
I was feeling smug that waitress Flo had, earlier, let me in on a pub secret: the best seat in the house.
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On the lower level of the garden, the table in the corner by the wall has the best views of the pretty village church and it stays in the sunshine for most of the afternoon.
The food is more refined than your classic pub fare, but it’s still fuss-free, decent cooking.
The Senior Sous Chef here, Aimie, took home gold at The Pub Chef of the Year awards back in March, thanks to that pie I mentioned earlier (seriously, if you try one thing on the menu, make sure it’s this).
Mum devoured the tandoori monkfish tail which was topped with a giant curry-flavoured poppadom.
Other dishes were just as well executed, including my starter of calamari which was coated in a light and crispy batter – not soggy like many I’ve tried before.
The city-centre of Bath is just a 15-minute drive away, but the village is so peaceful, you could easily while away a few days, strolling the countryside with your pooch in tow.
Stays at the hotel start from £96 a night.
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What to do in Bath?
The Sun's Travel Reporter Hope Brotherton recently visited the city - here's her verdit.
Bath is known for being the hometown of author Jane Austen.
You can download a free audio walking tour of the city created by Visit Bath.
The tour takes in the highlights of the city and includes extracts from Jane Austen’s novels and letters describing Bath as it would have been in its Georgian heyday.
The tour takes around 90 minutes but you can stop off at any point along the way to visit a museum or dip into a cafe or shop.
You can also stay at the The Queensberry hotel, set in a Georgian townhouse with Regency splendour.
If you're looking for ways to keep yourself busy in Bath, our travel writer took to the city for a Jane Austen themed break earlier this year.
Or those who love a beach day will be in their element at this new beach attraction in the city.
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