Wynnstay Hotel

Oswestry is a bit of a Welsh Marches backwater these days, but when this classic red-brick Georgian coaching inn was built, it had pole position on the crossroads of the Liverpool-to-Cardiff and London-to-Holyhead roads. The crown bowling green has been there for 200 years, but 21st-century visitors will be pleased to find rather more extensive leisure facilities, plus the obligatory health and beauty spa. The well-thought-out restaurant menu keeps things within sensible bounds and stays true to the region in its diligent sourcing of top-class local ingredients; an eclectic mix of classic and more contemporary dishes could kick off with venison ravioli with dolcelatte cheese sauce and toasted walnuts, while mains might range from honey-roast belly pork with apple and black pudding crumble and château potatoes to poached hake with clam chowder. Comforting desserts run to sticky toffee pudding, or Baileys crème brûlée.