Ashmount Country House

A solid Victorian house with open fires and antique furniture, Ashmount is a short stroll from the Brontës' famous parsonage. Elegantly laid tables set the tone in the dining room, with its views over the hillside. The sensibly short menu, which changes every few days, is well planned to offer plenty of scope, the style set by a well-conceived main course of pan-fried sea bass fillet with tomato velouté, English asparagus, spinach and saffron-flavoured new potatoes. Equally, there may be honey-roast duck breast with blackberry jus, sweet potato dauphinoise and baked vegetables, with starters like a chunky galantine of duck and chicken with fruity marmalade, and puddings tend to the hearty: sticky toffee, say, or apple and raspberry crumble.