Higher Buck, Waddington, Lancashire: hotel review

This pub, in one of Lancashire’s prettiest villages, is up there with the finest dining in the lauded Ribble valley. The modish makeover is no match for the food, but the classy guest rooms are

A stream runs alongside the main street in Waddington. Traffic is so light you can hear it gurgling as you stroll toward the gardens by St Helen’s church, where a sign lists the years (1975, 1979, 1981 … ) in which Waddington has been crowned Lancashire’s Best Kept Village. It is so cute it even bagged top spot in Yorkshire in 1966 (admittedly, at the time it was still part of that historically grabby county).