The Castle Inn sits on the crest of a hill at a busy junction above the ancient Wiltshire town of Bradford on Avon. Cars are two deep on the pub forecourt. Golly, it must be popular. It's 5pm on Sunday.
I push open the heavy old door. From the hall, I can see the bar off to my left, and another room, equally busy with drinkers and diners, to my right. Cutlery clatters on plates, elbows jostle on wooden tables and the place is roaring.
"You don't want to eat do you?" asks a nice girl, worriedly. "Only we've had to shut the kitchen." She's the manager, rushed off her feet – an unexpected horde has descended after a local half-marathon.
Upstairs, four double rooms (no twins). Two are already occupied and I've booked two – my friend D is still en route. "Take Room Three, it has the best view," says the manager. Next thing, I'm gazing across cottage rooftops, smoke rising from their chimneys, and steeply terraced gardens, towards Salisbury Plain. In the pinkish dusk, I can just make out the White Horse of Westbury.
The room's a restful shade of sage, with a bed 6ft wide and tiled wet room. Shame the loo wobbles. The brown carpet's very 70s and furniture throughout the building is the reassuringly solid kind that had a former life in banks or offices. There is plenty of studded and worn leather, and that's no bad thing in a pub. It's clear there has been a refurb, but a sensitive one.
Marathon men and women are now replaced by locals out for a pint. I wait for D downstairs, by a log fire, with a drink and the Sunday papers. Bliss. D arrives, dumps her bag upstairs ("Nice room") and plonks herself at the table.
From what's left on the menu, post-runners, we pick a grazing platter starter to share ("Very Jamie Oliver," D says), with sticky lemon chicken skewers, stuffed vine leaves (from a deli?) and corn fritters. Next, D is fulsome in her praise of pan-fried chicken on warm salad of puy lentils and butternut squash. My potato pancake with goat's cheese and beetroot taste good but comes swimming in unidentifiable sauce.
We remove to a snug, across the hallway, to lounge on worn sofas. Oil paintings and prints on the chocolate-coloured walls are illuminated by candles and lamplight.
"Hope the cleaners don't disturb you," our lovely manager says, as we make for the stairs. "Why – what time do they come in?"
"About 3am," she says. No chance – once in bed, loud snoring from a neighbouring room has me reaching for my earplugs.
Leaping into the monsoon shower next morning, with Arran Aromatics' mandarin shower gel – quelle horreur! – the handheld attachment is grimy.
Down in the bar at breakfast, I try to spot the snorer among the other guests. A straightforward menu is served from 8.30am until noon – in other words, breakfast continues seamlessly until lunch. It seems so obvious – but how many places do this? Very few.
"Enjoying breakfast in a pub would have been unthinkable pre-smoking ban," D muses over "nice, crisp bacon". We really like this modern rendition of a traditional watering hole. It feels like an old pub, but with things like baby changing, and without the grunge – except in my shower room. So they must get the cleaning sorted, fix the wobbly loo, and put earplugs in every room – because if the cleaners don't wake you, there's a chance someone snoring will.
• Mount Pleasant, Bradford on Avon (01225 865657, flatcappers.co.uk). £90-£110 per night B&B. Dinner costs around £15 for two courses.
Step back in time
Westbury White Horse can be seen from The Castle Inn (see above) and makes a nice walk. It was carved from chalk into the hillside in 1778, making it Wiltshire's oldest white horse (he is one of seven!). You often see people paragliding and kite flying there too (pictured below).
Summer festival
Iford Manor in Bradford-on-Avon is a Grade I-listed manor house that was home to architect and landscape gardener, Harold A Peto. The gardens alone are famous for their tranquil beauty, romantic terraces and magnificent rural views, but in the summer, Iford celebrates the arts. The Iford festival puts on outdoor opera, jazz and theatre productions summer long – and you can bring your own picnic.
01225 868124.
Shopping trip
Bath is only 20 minutes away, and the best place to head is the top of Milsom Street for independent shops, including the new OxfamBoutique shop (31 Gay Street, 01225 464838) – the second in the country, outside London – which is full of funky second-hand clothing.
An afternoon out
Pride and Prejudice was filmed at Stourhead estate, and the 18th-century landscaped garden is one of the finest in the world, with a beautiful lakeside walk and rare trees. This is a fantastic day trip for families, couples or on your own with a rug and novel. Just outside the grounds, there is a delightful pub called The Spread Eagle (01747 840587) – perfect for a ginger beer and sandwich.
Stroll and a drink
A short walk into Bradford-on-Avon along the Kennet and Avon canal which runs from Reading to Bristol. One of the deepest locks on the canal is in Bradford and has been in use since 1810. A beautiful 1½-mile walk along the canal to Bath will lead you to the Avoncliff aqueduct. Built from local stone, it carries the canal over the Avon and a railway to Bath. You can reward yourself with a slice of homemade cake and a glass of wine at The Mad Hatter tearooms in Bradford.
Mad Hatter: 155 Avoncliff (01225 868123).
Victoria Hill, general manager of the Castle Inn
