William Wolfe’s 100 best pubs in Britain
The best pubs in the South East and the Thames Valley
The 21 pubs in the South East and the Thames Valley that made Mr Wolfe’s hundred: fires in the grate, landlords who remember you, and food and wine worth the journey.
H
Tillington, West Sussex · within 90 minutes of London6. The Horse Guards InnStealth wealth country: hard to reach, quietly rich. A three-hundred-year-old inn beside the church, a stone’s throw from Petworth Park…S
Fittleworth, West Sussex · within 90 minutes of London10. The Swan InnHot on the Horse Guards’ heels, and an equally gorgeous spot. An ancient inn on the edge of the South Downs, close by the River Rother…A
Frithsden, Hertfordshire · within 90 minutes of London56. The Alford ArmsA Victorian pub hidden in the Chilterns, beside the Ashridge woods. The perfect Sunday lunch within an hour of London.B
Climping, West Sussex · within 90 minutes of London57. The Black HorseSeventeenth century, seven bedrooms, a vaulted oak dining room and a short walk to the sea. An ideal summer weekend.B
Bridge, Kent · within 90 minutes of London58. The Bridge ArmsThe Fordwich team’s second act, cooking over fire in a village outside Canterbury. Unpretentious room, starry plates.B
Charlbury, Oxfordshire · within 90 minutes of London59. The BullA handsome Cotswold-stone coaching inn cooking over wood. Hipster heaven: rooms upstairs, a fire downstairs.C
West Hoathly, West Sussex · within 90 minutes of London60. The Cat InnA sixteenth-century inn beside the church, with inglenooks, beams and a superb local following.C
Hastings, East Sussex · within 90 minutes of London61. The CrownOld Town Hastings at its best: a friendly, independent pub with a kitchen that champions the Sussex coast.D
Clanfield, Oxfordshire · within 90 minutes of London62. The Double Red DukeCountry pub, smart rooms and a grill that takes beef very seriously. Polished but never prissy.F
Fordwich, Kent · within 90 minutes of London63. The Fordwich ArmsA 1930s pub on the Stour in Britain’s smallest town. Open fire, oak panelling, river terrace, and cooking of real finesse.G
Burpham, West Sussex · within 90 minutes of London64. The GeorgeA flint village pub tucked into the South Downs, with walks from the door and very good cooking at the end of them.H
Marlow, Buckinghamshire · within 90 minutes of London65. The Hand and FlowersTom Kerridge’s monument, and the most decorated pub in the land. Book months ahead and order the glazed omelette.H
Bray, Berkshire · within 90 minutes of London66. The Hinds HeadA Tudor inn opposite the church, where Heston Blumenthal cooks the English canon with a scientist’s precision. Scotch egg, oxtail and…K
Wootton, Oxfordshire · within 90 minutes of London67. The Killingworth CastleA seventeenth-century coaching inn with its own brewery and kitchen to match. Very good rooms.M
Hambledon, Surrey · within 90 minutes of London68. The Merry HarriersA Surrey Hills inn with rooms, a garden and, improbably, llamas. The cooking is serious; the mood is not.N
Murcott, Oxfordshire · within 90 minutes of London69. The Nut Tree InnA fifteenth-century thatched inn run by Mike and Imogen North for two decades. Pigs in the garden, a star on the door, and no airs…R
Folkestone, Kent · within 90 minutes of London70. The Radnor ArmsA neighbourhood pub cooking at a level that would embarrass many restaurants. The reason to take the train to Folkestone.R
St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex · within 90 minutes of London71. The RoyalA corner pub turned seaside dining room, with an ambitious kitchen and fair prices.S
Seasalter, Kent · within 90 minutes of London72. The SportsmanA weatherboarded shack on a bleak stretch of marsh, and one of the great meals in England. Stephen Harris churns his own butter and makes…T
Tichborne, Hampshire · within 90 minutes of London73. The Tichborne ArmsA thatched village pub in the Itchen Valley. Exactly what an English country pub ought to be.W
Fyfield, Oxfordshire · within 90 minutes of London74. The White HartA fifteenth-century chantry house with a soaring great hall and minstrels’ gallery. Dinner in a medieval room, for the price of a pub…
Tillington, West Sussex · within 90 minutes of London6. The Horse Guards InnStealth wealth country: hard to reach, quietly rich. A three-hundred-year-old inn beside the church, a stone’s throw from Petworth Park…S
Fittleworth, West Sussex · within 90 minutes of London10. The Swan InnHot on the Horse Guards’ heels, and an equally gorgeous spot. An ancient inn on the edge of the South Downs, close by the River Rother…A
Frithsden, Hertfordshire · within 90 minutes of London56. The Alford ArmsA Victorian pub hidden in the Chilterns, beside the Ashridge woods. The perfect Sunday lunch within an hour of London.B
Climping, West Sussex · within 90 minutes of London57. The Black HorseSeventeenth century, seven bedrooms, a vaulted oak dining room and a short walk to the sea. An ideal summer weekend.B
Bridge, Kent · within 90 minutes of London58. The Bridge ArmsThe Fordwich team’s second act, cooking over fire in a village outside Canterbury. Unpretentious room, starry plates.B
Charlbury, Oxfordshire · within 90 minutes of London59. The BullA handsome Cotswold-stone coaching inn cooking over wood. Hipster heaven: rooms upstairs, a fire downstairs.C
West Hoathly, West Sussex · within 90 minutes of London60. The Cat InnA sixteenth-century inn beside the church, with inglenooks, beams and a superb local following.C
Hastings, East Sussex · within 90 minutes of London61. The CrownOld Town Hastings at its best: a friendly, independent pub with a kitchen that champions the Sussex coast.D
Clanfield, Oxfordshire · within 90 minutes of London62. The Double Red DukeCountry pub, smart rooms and a grill that takes beef very seriously. Polished but never prissy.F
Fordwich, Kent · within 90 minutes of London63. The Fordwich ArmsA 1930s pub on the Stour in Britain’s smallest town. Open fire, oak panelling, river terrace, and cooking of real finesse.G
Burpham, West Sussex · within 90 minutes of London64. The GeorgeA flint village pub tucked into the South Downs, with walks from the door and very good cooking at the end of them.H
Marlow, Buckinghamshire · within 90 minutes of London65. The Hand and FlowersTom Kerridge’s monument, and the most decorated pub in the land. Book months ahead and order the glazed omelette.H
Bray, Berkshire · within 90 minutes of London66. The Hinds HeadA Tudor inn opposite the church, where Heston Blumenthal cooks the English canon with a scientist’s precision. Scotch egg, oxtail and…K
Wootton, Oxfordshire · within 90 minutes of London67. The Killingworth CastleA seventeenth-century coaching inn with its own brewery and kitchen to match. Very good rooms.M
Hambledon, Surrey · within 90 minutes of London68. The Merry HarriersA Surrey Hills inn with rooms, a garden and, improbably, llamas. The cooking is serious; the mood is not.N
Murcott, Oxfordshire · within 90 minutes of London69. The Nut Tree InnA fifteenth-century thatched inn run by Mike and Imogen North for two decades. Pigs in the garden, a star on the door, and no airs…R
Folkestone, Kent · within 90 minutes of London70. The Radnor ArmsA neighbourhood pub cooking at a level that would embarrass many restaurants. The reason to take the train to Folkestone.R
St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex · within 90 minutes of London71. The RoyalA corner pub turned seaside dining room, with an ambitious kitchen and fair prices.S
Seasalter, Kent · within 90 minutes of London72. The SportsmanA weatherboarded shack on a bleak stretch of marsh, and one of the great meals in England. Stephen Harris churns his own butter and makes…T
Tichborne, Hampshire · within 90 minutes of London73. The Tichborne ArmsA thatched village pub in the Itchen Valley. Exactly what an English country pub ought to be.W
Fyfield, Oxfordshire · within 90 minutes of London74. The White HartA fifteenth-century chantry house with a soaring great hall and minstrels’ gallery. Dinner in a medieval room, for the price of a pub…