Far from the madding crowd
Above: The Carnarvon Arms, at Burghclere
Above: Dine in style
Above: Clean spacious rooms
I’ll let you into a secret. This corner of Berkshire, bordering Hampshire, is a favourite of mine. It is proper old-fashioned countryside, with quiet lanes and rolling hills.
I have driven slowly for miles without meeting another car – pheasants and deer zig-zagging haphazardly before me. And I’ve enjoyed the peace of an early summer morning, disturbed only by the beating of racehorses on the gallops outside Kingsclere. It is far from the madding crowd and yet less than half-an-hour or so drive away from the centre of Reading.
My destination, The Carnarvon Arms, is an unpretentious, yet stylish, country hostelry. Built in the mid-19th century as a coaching inn serving Highclere Castle, home to Lord and Lady Carnarvon, today it is just the right mix of homely and smart to make the perfect weekend retreat. It is homely enough to be comfortable, smart enough to feel like a treat, and it features in all the best guides including the Good Food Guide and Michelin’s Eating Out in Pubs Guide.
It is whatever you want it to be. There’s a traditional bar serving real ale and pub classics such as beer battered cod, chips and crushed peas. Or you can feast in the rather chic dining room with its barn-like vaulted ceiling, Egyptian-style panels, open fire, and oak floorboards with richly coloured oriental rugs. Here you can enjoy what general manager Harwood Warrington describes as “sensational food at sensible prices.”
Head chef Simon Pitney Baxter and Michelin-starred Executive Chef Rob Clayton have created a delicious modern British menu that makes the most of local, seasonal produce.
But the Carnarvon Arms is also the sort of place where, on a relaxed Sunday morning, you can ensconce yourself in squashy leather sofas with the papers and a bacon sandwich (or maybe smoked salmon and scrambled egg or porridge). (And if you really must keep in touch with the madding crowd, all bedrooms have wi-fi Internet access.) Follow this with a perfect Sunday lunch – think chicken liver paté with fig and orange compote, pan-roasted fillet of sea trout with herb crushed potatoes, spinach and red pepper dressing, and finish it all off with warm treacle tart.
Then head off along the Wayfarers’ Way up on to Watership Down. Your frenetic everyday life will seem a world away.
At a glance
Location: The Carnarvon Arms is just off the A34, exit signposted Highclere Castle, a few miles south of junction 13 of the M4.
Bedrooms: There are 23 en-suite bedrooms. Each has wi-fi Internet access and a wide screen plasma television.
Dining: Informal pub food in the bar includes tasty sandwiches from £4.50 and hot dishes from £7.95. In the dining room there's acclaimed modern British cooking using local seasonal produce: starters from £4.50, main courses from £10.95, and puddings from £5.00.
Tariffs: from £59.95 per room per night (single) or £79.95 per room per night (double).
Special offers: Single night stay (Friday or Sunday night) for double/twin room, dinner, bed and breakfast £120 per room based on two people sharing.
Two night stay (Friday/Saturday or Saturday/Sunday) for double /twin room, bed and breakfast with dinner on one night only, £180 (based on two people sharing).For latest offers visit www.carnarvonarms.com
Things to do nearby: Go racing at Newbury Racecourse, visit Highclere Castle and the Egyptian Exhibition, walk Watership Down, see the views from Walbury Hill, go to the theatre at the Watermill or the Corn Exchange.
The Carnarvon Arms, Winchester Road, Whitway, Burghclere RG20 9EL
Tel: 01635 278222 www.carnarvonarms.com
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