Summer spotlight: 4 of the best places for a summer staycation

26th July 2023

Summer, we love you

Ok, so the UK might not be famous for the stability of its summer weather, but we’ve picked four of our pubs with rooms (two beachy and two countryside-y) that will never disappoint if you decide to stay-cay.

South Coast and sea views

Let’s start with The Seagate – a grand old pub with buckets and buckets of heritage homeliness. The darling place is a seaside-y dream. It’s in the cute fishing village of Appledore (nothing to do with Harry Potter, although JK has said Devon gave her major inspo for it, so you never know).

Think spritzes on the sun terrace in summer and warming plates of goodness next to the fire in winter. It’s a pub with a massive Devonian heart. If you’re a walker and you like to fill your lungs with good air – The Seagate is your perfect South West Coast Path walk-base. And wow, what walking that is. Rugged and down-right-breath-taking (literally, in some south-westerlies).

The 17 bedrooms above the pub and in the converted sail loft are full of boutique charm and offer utter comfort. And some have sea views that make you want to get the paints out or write poetry.

THE SEAGATE

Coasts, cliffs and cosiness

Let’s move up a county now to Dorset. Poole, to be precise. Canford Cliffs, to be preciser. That’s where The Canford is found in all its old-red-brick glory. It’s a real gem this, with beach huts in the garden for almost-al-fresco fun. And inside, there’s everything you’d ever want a pub to have: cosiness, buzz, and lots and lots of great food and drink. Here, you’re all set for Bournemouth and all its fun, as well as the cliffs and all their natural magic. Just head east along the beach for an hour of walking to it. Or jump in the car, and you’re there in ten.

Staying at The Canford in one of the eleven boutique bedrooms is a very lovely thing to do. All the lovely period features are proudly shown off. And there are dog-friendly rooms, extra-special rooms with either a double shower or fancy rolltop bathtub. All just up a few stairs from the pub.

THE CANFORD

Countryside quaintness

It’s all about the quaintness of The Bell. A rustic old pub on the edge of cutesy, tranquil Cotswold village, Stow-on-the-Wold. The low beams and flagstone floors have bags of olde-worlde charm, and the cask ales are a serious business, as is everything that goes on in the kitchen. It’s idyllic, this place. A very proper country pub. Deep armchairs, Sunday papers, muddy boots and all. From here, green and pleasant is yours for the rambling. This neck of the woods is very, very lovely.

There are 14 gorgeous bedrooms (5 above the pub, and 9 just a short stroll away in Stuart House) that feel like a big hug at the end of a hard day’s walking, exploring, and visiting local tearooms (yes, Stow-on-the-Wold is that quaint). And because it’s such a gloriously higgledy-piggledy old building, there’s are some super-cosy rooms tucked into nooks we call ‘tiny’ doubles.

The BELL

Rolling hills and racehorses

If you like horses or horseracing, head to the Pheasant Inn. Overlooking Berkshire’s famed Valley of the Racehorse, it captures the glory of the area’s horsey legacy in lots of doting details throughout the pub. But also head here if you like woodlands, castles (Highclere’s nearby), stone circles (Avebury’s nearby, too), rolling chalk downlands, and (of course) brilliant food and drink.

The pub was an inn 450 years ago. And the gloriousness of the building’s age is a thing to behold. Its 14 bedrooms are right next door, with all sorts of shapes and sizes to choose from and plenty with zero-interruption views of the green, green rabbit-filled countryside.

Pheasant Inn