Break up your journey at The Pheasant Inn, a pub with rooms that promises moreish meals and easy access to the M4.
24 January, 2020
With a journey time of just one hour and 30 minutes from London (by car), we'd advise arriving at The Pheasant Inn a couple of hours before your dinner reservation - which will leave you time to drop your bags, freshen up and nurse a pint in a cosy pub corner - the Pheasant Inn's hearth.
Choose from four room types - Small Double, Medium Double, Large Double and Twin Room - starting from £115. Across all rooms (refurbished by London-based interior designer Flora Soames) you can expect certain design staples including plush fabric headboards, framed artworks and oversized lampshades capping urn-shaped bases. As beds go, these - dressed in luxury Egyptian cotton bed linens - near the top of our "cosiest" and "comfiest" lists - we suspect it's something to do with the duck-down duvets and mattress toppers. With that in mind, a lie-in is a near certainty. As a reminder: check out is at 11am.
Ah, the perpetual breakfast dilemma: will it be the full English or the continental breakfast? It turns out both are equally tasty here - the former, including smoked streaky bacon, Kelmscott sausage and slow-roast tomatoes, while the latter offers fresh juices, pastries and granola topped with a hearty dollop of yoghurt from Normandy. The veggie breakfast - think potato rosti and creamy avocado - also makes a compelling case.
Lunch is from noon to 5pm; dinner is from 6pm until 9.30pm. Both mealtimes offer a varied, well-priced menu that caters to vegans, vegetarians and pescatarians - try the moreish mushroom wellington with mustard creamed leeks and wilted spinach and the pan-fried halibut served with spinach and new potatoes. Finish with the lemon posset, decorated with raspberry coulis and crunchy ginger biscuits or the apple-and-pear tarte tatin to share (note: prep time is 10 minutes, but it's worth the wait). If you're visiting on a Sunday, avail of the sharing menu additions - the 16oz Wiltshire chateaubriand, served with Yorkshire puddings, garlic-and-herb roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables and red-wine sauce is scrumptious. If you're gathering with a larger gang, it would be wise to book out the private dining room, which caters to groups of up to 20.
The bar stocks 30 whiskies, 10 vodkas and nine beers, with wines sourced from Berry Bros. & Rudd, Bibendum and other specialist suppliers. We recommend ordering a Pheasant Ale, pulled from painterly, ceramic tap handles, and then hunkering in for the afternoon/ evening.
Perch on a vintage leather stool or plop yourself fireside with the pooch (dogs are welcome here), the papers and a pint. Alternatively, hunker down in the bar's adjoining cosy snug where you can play board games or catch the day's races on the big screen.
Modcons include free WiFi (though a little patchy), Roberts radios and smart TVs.
Book a room for a Sunday night, and you can stay for free if your restaurant tab is over £100. Free parking is available to all guests.
The Pheasant Inn is plotted just off a main road, so you'll need a car to travel towards more scenic pastures. Head to the market town of Hungerford for antiques shops and fairs or to neighbouring Marlborough for a spot of lunch and a stroll along one of the widest high streets in England.
