The Wheatsheaf Inn

West End, Northleach, Gloucestershire. GL54 3EZ

Once a den for drunken highwaymen and vagabonds, you could argue that the Wheatsheaf has changed a lot over the years. Now, it’s all Farrow & Ball walls, distressed-wood furniture and artfully aged portraits of tobacco traders, with one of the best collections of ales and wine in the area. It’s the kind of place where you can sink into a pre-dinner armchair and rise an hour later with nothing left in the bottle, then amble over to the dinner table for another look at the great-value wine list and start again. The food marks how a country pub should be: wholesome and unrefined, with the bulk of ingredients sourced from the surrounding countryside. Start with the twice-baked cheese soufflé, made with tounge-numbingly strong Cheddar, then go for grilled calves liver with a tomato sauce, capers and crispy sage. You won’t go hungry after a Cornish skate wing larger than your plate. When it’s time to meander up to the snug guest rooms, don’t be surprised if you pass Kate Moss’s Cotswolds set in the bar. The vagabonds of yore never seem too far away. MS. 01451 860244 , theluckyonion.com/property/the-wheatsheaf/