This new pub with rooms is a welcome addition to conservative Cheshire’s food and accommodation scene – even though it’s not quite as offbeat and designery as it tries to make out
You might imagine that rural Cheshire is home to many bucolic inns and tasty gastropubs. Not so. It may be well-heeled, green and pleasant, but the area is dominated by large pub operators and good food is surprisingly hard to find. The scene is flashy yet conservative.
You can feel that tension at the 26-bedroom Vicarage, the first property from the family-owned Flat Cap Hotels (it aims to operate five properties by 2019). In the trade press, it has sold itself as an off-beat, design-led spiritual cousin of the Hoxton and Pig hotels, bringing a contemporary edge to Cheshire. Yet, this pub-with-rooms near sleepy Holmes Chapel is advancing cautiously.
The ceiling beams are covered in heraldic, fantasy imagery. Is someone here a Game of Thrones fan?
Continue reading...