The Stump Hotel

Cirencester

It wouldn’t be unfair to call the Cotswolds ‘the Capital of Gastropubs’, as for every country mile walked, there’s sure to be a thatched-roof pub poised to greet you with pea risotto and sticky toffee pudding. Sat in splendid solitude on a stretch of the Foss Way, The Stump, too, will warmly welcome you post-ramble, though this ten-bedroom coaching inn has one foot in Cirencester and the other in Campania. Pizza pros and pals Baz and Fred (Harry Henriques and Fred Hicks) have bucked the trend, broken the rules and brought their wood-fired pizzas – which first found fame in London’s Flat Iron Square – to the countryside, where they’ve quickly built up an enthusiastic following. Wild mushroom croquettes stuffed with Welsh porcini and Forest of Dean chicken of the woods are a moreish start, followed by a thick-crusted pizza loaded with chorizo, raw honey and mozzarella that’s flown in weekly from Italy. Dessert comes from Dude’s Doughnuts, another London outpost that’s relocated to greener pastures. We devour ours in the comfort of our room, which is as big as a farmhouse – and just as homely.

Words by Fleur Rollet-Manus. Doubles from £80. thestump.co.uk