The Bell Inn Hotel

Famous as the birthplace of stilton cheese, the pub has just started making it again. They call it Bell Blue, because EU food protection law says that the real thing must come from only Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. A Bell Inn has stood here since 1500, although this one is mid-17th century; even so, it is reputedly the oldest coaching inn on the old Great North Road, with an impressive façade and a fine original interior. It once welcomed (or maybe not!) highwayman Dick Turpin, as well as Lord Byron and Clark Gable, who was stationed nearby in 1943. Modern British dishes in the Galleried Restaurant include fillet of English beef Rossini; roast cod fillet; and stilton, rocket and aubergine quiche. In the Bar/Bistro try Guinness-braised shank of lamb, or seared fillet of sea bass. Note the magnificent inn sign, a replica of the original. All the bedrooms are en suite.