The Cotswolds are a great place to head to if you need to escape London for a night or two. The Village Pub in Barnsley is a mere hop, skip and jump down the M40/A40, making it a perfect place to stay for a swift getaway. You can be there within an hour and a half of leaving central London, traffic willing.
The first thing you notice arriving in Barnsley on a winter’s evening is how utterly dark it is. Proper, pitch black of the sort we never see in London. The stillness of the night is instantly de-stressing and you will quickly feel the troubles of city life slip off your shoulders.
The Village Pub is dark and cosy and with its flagstone floors, crackling fires, Windsor chairs and settles has just the right amount of rustic, country charm. There are some sweet updated touches too such as the papier-mâché animal heads replacing the more usually found real ones.
The food is very good, typical pub fare made with gratifyingly high quality ingredients. The bedrooms are nice, if a little uninterestingly decorated, but most importantly of all the pub is very dog friendly. Edward was given his own bed and water bowl and was generally made a fuss of wherever he went.
One of the best things about The Village Pub is that it is a five minute walk from the fabulous Barnsley House hotel (they have the same owners). It’s nice to have the contrast, and I like to stay in the pub (it’s much more affordable than the hotel) and eat dinner there, and lunch at the hotel the next day after a long, cobweb-busting walk. This makes for a rather perfect 24 hour escape and you are only a few minutes from the M40 so can get back to London with no trouble at all.
The Village Pub
Barnsley, Cirencester, GL7 5EF
01285 740421
thevillagepub.co.uk
Rooms start at £129
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