The King's Head Inn

The King's Head Inn is a 16th-century former cider house sitting directly on Bledington's village green, one of the prettiest greens in Oxfordshire, where ducks from the Windrush stream have a habit of wandering across the car park.

Run by Archie and Nicola Orr-Ewing, it has earned a serious collection of accolades without losing its character as a working local: Good Pub Guide Pub of the Year 2018, then National Inn of the Year for both 2020 and 2021, with the Gloucestershire Dining Pub of the Year title thrown in for good measure.

Much of what goes on the plate comes from John and Anthony at University Farm — born and bred in Bledington, lifetime regulars at the bar — who supply the rare-breed beef, pork, lamb, poultry, game, and eggs. It is the kind of provenance that is easy to claim and genuinely hard to pull off.

The bar runs on real ales and what the Good Pub Guide calls 'super wines by the glass', and there are open fires and exposed beams to make the atmospheric interior feel earned rather than staged.

Dogs on leads are welcome in the bar and garden. Twelve bedrooms are split between rooms above the inn itself and quieter courtyard rooms — a useful base for exploring the northern Cotswolds, with Kingham station a short drive away for those coming up from London.

EV charging points are available in the main car park. Book ahead for dinner; the restaurant fills up.