To launch our two-for-one deal on lunches in 50 pubs in England and Wales featured in a new Sawday's guide, we choose 10 summer watering holes
All these pubs, plus 40 more, are part of a Guardian deal, offering two-for-one lunches throughout June. Download a voucher from 1-7 June
The Lion Inn, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire
Pushing open the heavy oak door reveals a main bar of exposed brickwork and stripped wood, stunningly restored by owner Annie. It's a great place to read the papers over a pint of real ale, play Scrabble, cards or one of the other games. The menu is seasonal, and includes ham hock and black pudding terrine, monkfish with chorizo piperade and pineapple tarte tatin. In summer, drinkers can spill onto the tranquil terrace with a platter of seafood. Country-chic rooms upstairs – one with a small balcony, three with private staircases – are TV-free and decorated with soothing colours. For walkers, Winchcombe is on the Cotswold Way.
• 01242 603300, thelionwinchcombe.co.uk. Lunch and dinner £12-£19. Rooms from £90
The Old Hall Inn, Whitehough, Derbyshire
A glorious stone-built 16th-century coaching inn and Elizabethan manor house, the Old Hall Inn is also a family-run country pub and village hub. There are 10 local cask ales on tap – and their own will arrive as soon as Dan perfects the brew. Food ranges from pub classics to tarragon chicken burgers or pulled pork. The pub, and its sister, the Old Paper Mill – a stone's throw across the garden – both have rooms.
• 01663 750529, old-hall-inn.co.uk. Lunch from £5.50. Bar meals and dinner from £8. Sunday lunch, three courses, £18.50. Rooms from £69
Queens Arms, Litton, North Yorkshire
It's a good day when a rural pub re-opens. This one is in Litton, one of the most remote villages in this corner of the Dales and as pretty as it gets, with a smattering of handsome 17th-century houses, wildflower meadows and the river Skirfare burbling through. The Queens Arms, long, low and freshly whitewashed, is a good find after a lovely walk. A lick of paint has smartened the inside without routing tradition; flagged floors, open fire, beams and stone walls remain. There's a new regime in the tiny kitchen, and a short but appealing menu. Upstairs are four bedrooms with long views from the low windows.
• 01756 770096, queensarmslitton.co.uk. Lunch and dinner £4.95-£12.95. Rooms from £55
Y Ffarmers, Llanfihangel y Creuddyn, Ceredigion
Previously a farm and tax collector's office, Y Ffarmers, in a pretty village, has found its calling under the stewardship of chef Rhodri and wife Esther. Walkers can come into the quarry-tiled bar with mud on their boots and not an eyelid will be batted. The Evan Evans or Felinfoel are recommended pints. The dining rooms are packed with books on Wales, there's art on the walls and a piano for impromptu live music sessions; choral and harp evenings also take place. All the food is made from scratch and menus range from Penlan gammon, egg and chips to lamb tagine.
• 01974 261275, yffarmers.co.uk. Lunch and dinner £5-£17.50. Sunday lunch £15 and £18.50
The Black Lion Inn, Llanfaethlu, Anglesey
The Lion roars again thanks to the hard work of owners Mari and Leigh, who have transformed this once- derelict late-18th-century inn. French windows open to a paved patio with views across the car park to fields, one of which will soon grow vegetables and herbs for the kitchen. Ales from Marston's and wines from Wales complement modern British dishes with a Gallic twist, such as local pan-fried scallops with black pudding on a bed of wilted lettuce topped with butter sauce, or beef from Mari's father's own Hereford herd. Upstairs are two rooms with open rafters.
• 01407 730718, blacklionanglesey.com. Lunch and dinner £6-£19. Rooms from £115
The Bull Hotel, Wrotham, Kent
Wedged (peacefully) between the M20 and M26, pretty Wrotham and its rambling old coaching inn sit on Kent's glorious North Downs, smack bang on the Pilgrim's Way. Refurbishment of the Bull, also the hub of the village, has been a labour of love, with Martin and Lygia sprucing up their interiors whenever the coffers allowed. In a bar once frequented by Battle of Britain pilots (note the stamps on the ceiling), are Dark Star ales, interesting wines and good seasonal food, perhaps venison sausages or a 30-day aged fillet steak, then an orange and almond cake. It's a great country bolthole and handy for Eurotunnel and port-bound travellers.
• 01732 789800, thebullhotel.com. Lunch from £6.50, bar meals from £9, three-course dinner £25-£35. Sunday lunch from £12. Rooms from £79
Yew Tree Inn, Newent, Gloucestershire
Guests stride the grasslands and pine forests of May Hill before heading to this centuries-old cider press with a modern facade. The cosy bar, all stone and beer-mat festooned beams, has local ales, cider from Three Choirs and a wine list sourced from little-known vineyards. There is also a wine shop at the back. Menus are seasonal and local: steamed mussels in saffron and cider, roast guinea fowl breast and confit thigh, braised cabbage and quince jus. The terrace has views over trees, and a child-friendly play area below.
• 01531 820719, yewtreeinn.com. Lunch from £8. Bar meals from £12. Dinner, two or three courses, £18-£23
The George Inn, Robertsbridge, Sussex
John and Jane swapped corporate life for this handsome old inn in pretty Robertsbridge, and have restored its fortunes as both an inn and a community local. There are pints of Rother Valley Level Best on offer and seasonal dishes, such as locally landed lemon sole, Rye Bay scallops, slow-roasted pork belly with Bramley apple spiced compote, chargrilled lamb rump with minted rösti. Ingredients are sourced within 30 miles and everything is homemade. Upstairs, money has been lavished on four rooms. The George Inn is close to the tourist destinations of Battle, Bodiam Castle and Pashley Manor Gardens.
• 01580 880315, thegeorgerobertsbridge. co.uk. Lunch from £5. Bar meals from £9.75. Dinner from £10. Rooms from £95
The Angel Inn, Stoke-by-Nayland, Suffolk
Soft lamplight glows in the windows of this 16th-century inn deep in Constable country. Inside, there are carved beams, exposed brickwork, polished wood tables, chesterfields and wing chairs, fresh flowers and candles and a few antique pieces. The Angel fills early and offers an imaginative menu. Diners can eat in the bar, the galleried restaurant (once a brewhouse) or on the terrace at the back on warm summer evenings. The inn also has boutique-style bedrooms. Flatford Mill and beautiful Dedham Vale are a short drive away.
• 01206 263245, angelinnsuffolk.co.uk. Lunch £13.95-£15.95. Dinner £14.50-£22.50. Rooms from £85
The Merry Harriers, Hambledon, Surrey
Leafy countryside rolls away on all sides from this historic pub that has dispensed ale since 1710. Inside, wine racks are crammed with bottles from across the globe, including Château d'Yquem from Bordeaux, and there's Pilgrim's Progress and Surrey Hills Shere Drop on tap. Traditional menus come with a Mediterranean twist and local provenance; their own smoked trout is a speciality. Blackboards list specials and local events, and there is a garden with swings and slides, watched over by the owners' nine llamas. Overnight guests enjoy a breakfast hamper delivered to their room.
• 01428 682883, merryharriers.com. Lunch £6-£22. Bar meals from £6. Dinner £12.50-£22. Rooms from £85
Sawday's Special Places Pubs & Inns of England & Wales, 10th anniversary edition (sawdays.co.uk/pubs), is on sale now, at £15.99. The new Sawday's Pubs app is also available now from the App Store, introductory offer £2.49