Town meets country

You expect some things in the country. Arriving at a pub deep in the wilds, with mud on your boots or your Lycra or at the very least your hubcabs, it's fair to expect certain conditions. A shortage of cutting-edge fashion, for example. Perhaps a hint of grudging resentment towards city folk. Unspectacular food. What you don't expect from a pub in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by crops and livestock, is the sense of arriving in a bar in Fulham, only with better food. And that's what you get at the Beckford Arms, on the Fonthill Estate deep in the bowels of rural Wiltshire. A haunt for the beautiful people, whether local or just taking the country air, the Beckford has a rare combination of metropolitan glamour, excellent food and great beers from the Butcombe, Hopback and Keystone breweries. It's even worth leaving town for.