Set in a town oozing 16th-century charm, this historic pub offers rooms with wow factor – but the food could do with a bit of an upgrade
Had you popped out for a pint in Stamford in 1684, you may, if you were unlucky, have bumped into the Honourable Order of Little Bedlam, a drinking club of local aristos whose zany nicknames (Stag, Wild Horse and, erm, Porcupine) give you a flavour of why you would not want them in your local.
One of the Order’s favourite watering holes, the Bull & Swan, has chosen to make a virtue of this association, naming and quietly styling its nine bedrooms after this proto-Bullingdon Club, whose members included Sir Isaac Newton. Luckily, this celebration of “Bedlam” runs no deeper than that light thematic conceit and the periwigged portraits hung in the bar. The Bull (or the Bull & Swan at Burghley, to give you its full title) is nowadays a model of civilised, democratic hospitality. Chatty manager Jen Totty sets the easy-going tone. Her welcome is as warm as the Bull’s open-fires. I encounter zero Hooray Henrys.
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