Legends of the fall: 10 UK pubs with rooms for autumn stays

09.10.2023 - 16:25 / theguardian.com / River Wye

Part of the vast 22,500-acre Elveden estate, owned by the Guinness family, this charming pub with rooms is surrounded by the Brecks, one of the most wildlife-rich areas in the UK, part of Thetford Forest. Stroll the forest tracks beneath blazing autumnal canopies, and look out for stone curlews, woodlarks and nightjars, roe and red deer, hares and muntjac. The High Lodge Forest Centre has play areas, cycle trails and a tree canopy adventure course – ideal if you’re visiting with the kids, with family rooms (sleeping up to four) available at the inn. Doubles from £105 B&B; elvedeninn.com

Tucked away in the remote Brendon Valley, the Rockford feels delightfully off-grid, with footpaths from the door through wooded valleys and spectacular gorges that burn auburn and scarlet as the leaves turn. Rooms are simple but comfortable, but the real charm is in the communal areas; refreshingly ungentrified, with leather-topped bar stools, toby jugs and a roaring fire in the lower bar, with shelves of books and scrubbed wooden tables in the galleried upper bar. There are circular walks from the door, including to Watersmeet, where the East Lyn and Hoar Oak rivers meet. Two-night breaks from £99 B&B; therockfordinn.co.uk

The New Forest’s great swathes of oak, beech and birch blaze with colour in the autumn, while ponies and pigs roam freely and the forest floor is mottled with scarlet fungi and ripples of auburn bracken. Brockenhurst makes an ideal base, close to the spectacular planting of the Rhinefield Ornamental Drive and the Knightwood Oak trail, named after the 500-year-old tree known as the “Queen of the Forest”. Stay at the Huntsman of Brockenhurst, an upscale gastropub with 13 treat-filled rooms, including White Company toiletries, Nespresso machines and pleasingly fluffy bathrobes. Doubles from £122 B&B; thehuntsmanofbrockenhurst.com

The Wye Valley – flanked by steep forested hills that glow burnt orange and butter yellow in autumn – is at its most beautiful around the village of Tintern, where the roofless 12th-century abbey rises up against the sparkling waters of the River Wye. The Wild Hare sits at the heart of the village, with walks from the door – including stretches of the Wye Valley Walk and Offa’s Dyke Path. Rooms are chic and contemporary in neutral tones, while the bar offers comfy sofas for a welcome post-walk slump, and a varied menu of pub classics in the cosy dining room. Doubles from £125 B&B; thewildharetintern.co.uk

Sitting next to the National Trust’s Ashridge Estate – famous for its swathes of beech trees that flame with vibrant orange hues in autumn – the Greyhound Inn is a classic country pub with stripped floorboards, slouchy Chesterfields and a roaring log-burner in the bar,