The Inn at Whitewell

On the bank of the River Hodder, with stunning views down the valley to the Forest of Bowland, this 16th-century building in its own words 'adheres to the old-fashioned concept of a rural inn'. This means stone floors, real fires, beams, antique furniture and prints, while the restaurant is a stylish but unpretentious room with white linen napery and candlelight. Much of the food is sourced locally: home-cured gravad lax, or smoked Goosnargh chicken, served in a salad with beetroot and horseradish relish, fillet of beef, cooked pink, and accompanied by a little pie of braised oxtail, with baby onions, celeriac purée and a red wine jus. Puddings, 'sometimes nursery-like', according to the menu, complete the line-up.