top gourmet inns across England and Wales..!

For a new series of guidebooks, David Hancock and his team of inspectors visited hundreds of country pubs across England and Wales, searching out the finest food, best beer and most stylish bedrooms. This is his pick of the best...

Spread Eagle Inn, Stourton, Wiltshire

In this one-road village it's hard to miss the Spread Eagle, and it does no harm either being close to the entrance of one of the National Trust's most famous landscape gardens at Stourhead House - an outstanding example of the English style, laid out between 1741 and 1780 around the Palladian mansion. Stephen Ross, hotelier and restaurateur, has brought out the best of the pub's handsome building with his stunning refurbishment, including stone floors, painted beams and five immaculate bedrooms. The menu is neither too long nor overambitious. Typical offerings include pressed country pâté with fruit chutney, pickled walnuts and toast, a ploughman's of West Country cheeses, or something more hearty like slow-roasted Barbary duck leg teamed with smoked bacon, and butterbean and sausage stew.

· 01747 840587; spreadeagleinn.com

The Pear Tree Inn, Whitley, Wiltshire

A former working farm dating back to 1750, the impressive, mellow stone, Pear Tree Inn is set in four acres of glorious gardens, where fragrant lilac and cottage roses border manicured lawns. A refreshing lack of formality prevails throughout, with rug-strewn flagstone floors, worn wooden tables and a crackling log fire. Eight contemporary bedrooms are split between the inn and a beautifully converted barn. The heart of the business lies in the kitchen. Proprietors Martin and Debbie Still are passionate about using organic and free-range meat and vegetables from local farms. Try crispy pork belly with rocket, fennel and caper salad, or the delicious sea bass with tomato and herbs.

Owned and run by locals Steve and Tracey Hunt, and their neighbour Julia Reed, this splendid inn features a gorgeous Cotswold stone exterior and stylish bedrooms with Egyptian cotton sheets, walk-in showers and Jo Malone toiletries. Chef Mathew Dare draws on a rich supply of top-notch local ingredients to create his modern British menus, with fruit and vegetables from surrounding farms, handmade Cotswold cheeses and Evenlode lamb reared by former Blur guitarist Alex James. In the Tack Room bar, tuck into lunchtime sandwiches or the hearty Westcote breakfast, washed down with a foaming pint of Hooky ale. In the spacious, split-level restaurant, sample scallops and pancetta, followed by John Dory with watercress risotto, then linger over an iced vanilla parfait.

· 01993 830888; westcoteinn.co.uk