Alastair Sawday 

Fantastic campsites by the pub

Alastair Sawday selects his pick of great bars near to equally gorgeous campsites, so you can stagger straight from tavern to tent
  
  

The Langstrath Country Inn, Stonethwaite, Cumbria
Pitch and pint ... the Langstrath Country Inn is handily close to Stonethwaite Campsite Photograph: PR

You've arrived. Tents are up, chairs positioned to make the most of the view, children have hooked up with another family and it's time to start cooking. But there's just one burner and the gas bottle's almost empty. Time to head for the pub. But you don't want to drive — not back, anyway — so here are some great pubs and campsites, within staggering distance of each other, naturally.

1. Halzephron, Gunwalloe, Helston, Cornwall

This whitewashed inn has been taking in guests (and smugglers — there's an underground passage) for 500 years. Numerous cosy eating areas around the bar, and a patio with a huge sea view. Food is freshly cooked and carefully presented: seafood chowder, smoked duck and wild mushroom risotto, crab salad platter, roast monkfish with saffron mussels, raspberry pavlova. Blow away the cobwebs on the cliff-top walk to Gunwalloe's 13th-century church beside the sand. halzephron-inn.co.uk

Where to camp: Gunwalloe Caravan Park - a small site with room for tents about a mile from the pub. +44 (0)1326 572668. Price per night: £8.50 - £10 a night

2. The Langstrath Country Inn, Stonethwaite, Cumbria

On a track leading up to the Lakes' highest peaks (note, parking can be tricky). The dinner menu indicates an enthusiasm for local produce — Rosthwaite Herdwick lamb, Cumbrian Galloway steak, Morecambe Bay shrimps (potted); lunch is a soup and sandwich affair. A popular refuelling stop on the coast-to-coast path and the Cumbrian Way. thelangstrath.com.

Where to camp: Stonethwaite Campsite - simple camping with few facilities but a beautiful location. + 44 (0)17687 77234. Price per night: £4 adults, £2 kids over 5.

3. The Corn Mill, Llangollen, Denbighshire

Renovated 18th-century corn mill beside the Dee. The menu is laced with contemporary ingredients and ideas. The veranda is stunning, built out over the rapids with a gangway overhanging one end beyond the water wheel. Watch dippers and wagtails as you tuck into bacon, brie and tomato toasted ciabatta, fish stew, lamb hotpot with pickled red cabbage, and scrumptious bread and butter pudding. +44 (0)1978 869555, cornmill-llangollen.co.uk.

Where to camp: Wern Isaf Farm - working farm at the foot of Castle Dinas Bran, dramatic medieval ruins high above Llangollen. +44 (0)1978 860632, wernisaf.supanet.com. Price: £5 per adult, £3 child.

4. The Bull's Head, Ashford-in-the-Water, Derbyshire

Lovely carved settles, cushions, clocks and country prints; there are newspapers and magazines to read, jazz hums in the background, coals glow in the grate. "Bistro food, not a laminated menu," the owners say; even the bread and the cheese biscuits are homemade. There is a strong emphasis on local and seasonal produce: courgette and lemon soup, steak and beer pie with braised red cabbage, pan-fried calves' liver with bubble and squeak and red wine gravy, sticky toffee pudding with black treacle sauce. Roses round the door, tables round the back, and a pretty village with a bridge. +44 (0)1629 812931.

Where to camp: Greenhills Holiday Park - a well-organised site surrounded by the slopes of the lower Wye valley and a hop, skip and jump to the village. +44 (0)1629 813052, greenhillsholidaypark.co.uk. Price: £10.50-£16.

5. The Tower Inn, Slapton, Kingsbridge, Devon

Low-beamed, stone-walled interior — all rustic dark-wood tables, old pews and fine stone fireplaces. Choose golden, bitter-sweet St Austell Brewery Tribute, then soak it up with a plateful of crispy fried red mullet with roasted pepper salsa, or local beef, venison and lamb dishes. A lovely, sleepy village setting — and a super landscaped garden at the back with views of the parish church and the eerie tower. thetowerinn.com.

Where to camp: Camping & Caravanning Club - site at Slapton Sands — no need to join the club though. A stroll from Slapton Ley with sea views. Price: £17.80-£23.20.

6. The Square & Compass, Worth Matravers, Swanage, Dorset

This splendid old pub has been in the family for 100 years and remains gloriously unchanged. With a pint of farmhouse cider and a homemade pasty — that's all the food they sell — you can chat in the flagged corridor or settle in the sunny parlour with its painted wooden panels, old tables, wall seats, local prints and cartoons. The rustic, stone-walled main room has live music. High on the edge of the village, gazing across fields to the sea, the pub and its sunny front terrace is a popular stop for coastal path hikers. +44 (0)1929 439229.

Where to camp: Tom's Field, Langton Matravers - more of a hike than a stagger as it's two miles along the Priest's Way, so best undertaken in daylight. Lovely field on the edge of the world. +44 (0)1929 427110, tomsfieldcamping.co.uk. Price: £11-£12.

7. Llanthony Priory, Llanthony, Abergavenny, Wales

What was once the abbot's cellar is now an ivy-tumbled house with tower cradled by lush hills. No mobile reception, no cars, just beauty and birdsong. The pub is the cellar, a white vaulted room with an atmospheric hotchpotch of wooden tables and high-backed pews. Food is simple: homemade beef burgers, spicy lamb casserole, proper espresso. +44 (0)1873 890487, llanthonyprioryhotel.co.uk.
Where to camp: Court Farm - has a tap and loos, no showers and an idyllic camping spot. +44 (0)1873 890359, llanthony.co.uk/camping. Price: £3 adults, £1.50 kids.

8. The White Horse, Brancaster Staithe, Norfolk

Enter the dapper white pub, pass the lively front bar and head for the conservatory restaurant with its astonishing views. Local oysters, crabs, mussels and fish and grilled red mullet with warm potato and cucumber salad are matched by exemplary steaks, lamb and pork, and great bar meals. The roof is grassed over so that the fine-weather sun deck and dining room have a clean view all the way to Scolt Head Island. Huge sunsets, fine food and a welcome for children and dogs. +44 (0)1485 21026, whitehorsebrancaster.co.uk.

Where to camp: Deepdale Farm Camping, Burnham Deepdale - cafe, stables, salt marshes across the road and, best of all, tepees to rent (minimum two nights). +44 (0)1485 210256, deepdalefarm.co.uk. Price: £6-£8 adults, £3-£4 kids.

9. The Three Horseshoes, Batcombe, Somerset

This honey-stoned coaching inn sits in a lovely village down a web of country lanes. The long, low bar has cream beams and pink walls hung with local views. The modern British menu uses local organic produce, much of it from the vegetable garden, and is full of promise: start with homemade pâté de campagne, move on to shoulder of local lamb with red wine jus or sea bass fillet with tomato and herb salsa, finish with a trio of English puds. +44 (0)1749 850359, three-horseshoes.co.uk.

Where to camp: Batcombe Vale Campsite - lakes, free rowing boats, fishing and happy campers in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ANOB). +44 (0)1749 831207, batcombevale.co.uk. Price: £15 adults, £2.30 kids.

10. The George, Alstonefield, Ashbourne, Staffordshire

Remote limestone village perched on a plateau between the remarkable gorges of the rivers Dove and Manifold. Small, timeless rooms with beams, quarry tiles, log fires, Britannia tables, fascinating old photos and polished plate. Homemade chow to savour — nothing fancy, just fine filling pub food and real ales. +44 (0)1335 310205, thegeorgeatalstonefield.com.

Where to camp: Camping at The George - a walled site — only 15 pitches, no booking and use the pub's facilities. Price: enquire at pub.

11. The Foresters, The Street, Graffham, Sussex

Duck-liver parfait and a pear chutney, shepherd's pie with buttered cabbage, bread and butter pudding: everything is homemade and none of it costs a bomb. The pub dates from the 17th century, has open fires, beamed ceilings and cider flagons in a fireplace. +44 (0)17988 67202, foresters-arms.com.

Where to camp: Camping & Caravanning Club Site, Graffham - a peaceful, wooded site less than two miles from the South Downs Way. +44 (0)1798 867476, campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk. Price: £5.90-£7.60, plus pitch fee for non-members of £6 per person per night.

12. The King's Head, Aston Cantlow, Warwickshire

It is said that Shakespeare's parents had their wedding reception here; perhaps they even tucked into the famous duck supper, a house speciality. More up-to-date delicacies join the menu today, from the rare roast beef sandwiches with celeriac and horseradish to salmon, lemongrass and chive fishcakes, roast venison with calvados sauce, and the lemon cheesecake. There's a small garden for summer, the village creaks with history and the walks start from the door. +44 (0)1789 488242, thekh.co.uk.

Where to camp: Island Meadow Caravan Park - a small, secluded site by the river Alne, they do take tents and it's a short stroll across the meadows to the pub. +44 (0)1789 488273, islandmeadowcaravanpark.com. Price £12.50.

13. Golden Lion, Osmotherley, Yorkshire

Old stone inn overlooking the village green and market cross, it bustles with booted walkers on the coast-to-coast walk in the day, and hums with well-dressed diners at night. The chef serves up fresh ingredients that are well put together. Start with fish soup or pâté with apricot relish, move on to chicken kiev or calves' liver with onions and mash, finish with a wicked pudding. +44 (0)1609 883526, goldenlionosmotherley.co.uk.

Where to camp: Cote Ghyll Caravan & Camping Park - a 10-minute stroll to the village with plenty of smart on-site facilities for that home-away-from-home camping experience. +44 (0)1609 883425, coteghyll.com. Price: £14-£16.

14. The Lister Arms Hotel, Malham, Yorkshire

A jewel in the glorious Dales, dating back to the 1600s. There's fabulous country all around — the Pennine Way cuts through — so come to walk, ride, bike, paraglide. Return at night to a friendly bar for hearty home-cooked pub grub — battered cod, steak and ale pie and pan-fried chicken. listerarms.co.uk.

Where to camp: Riverside Campsite, Town Head Farm - a two-minute walk into Malham and in the next field from the awesome Malham Cove, a dramatic, curving, 260ft-high limestone cliff formation. +44 (0)1729 830287. Price: £12.

· Alastair Sawday's Pubs & Inns of England & Wales, available from sawdays.co.uk for £9.74 + p&p

 

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