Eagle and Child Hotel

Oxford

A trip to this gastropub will leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling which isn’t purely the result of arriving by steam train from Bury via several picturesque milling hamlets. The pub is a social enterprise which focuses on employing marginalised young people, while also supporting local farmers. This is a cause we’re only too happy to support, particularly when this involves feasting on slow-braised Bowland lamb with vegetables from the kitchen garden. The menu is an ode to Pennine produce and confident, homely cooking. Smoked haddock with pea risotto is deliciously lubricated with an egg from one of their own hens, while the potent cheese and onion pie is expertly balanced with a toasted hazelnut salad. Upstairs, five recently renovated bedrooms feature funky mid-century furniture and walls daubed in citrus colours. Log burners maintain a degree of country-inn- cosiness, while drinking in views over Holcombe Moor from your Juliet balcony is enough to get even city slickers reaching for their hiking boots. Doubles from £75.