The Bybrook at the Manor

Dating back to the 14th century, this charming manor house sits in peaceful grounds in the village of Castle Combe, complete with Italian gardens and lawns sweeping down to the Bybrook river. Curl up with a book by the fire or work up an appetite with a round of golf or croquet, and then take a seat in the restaurant, an atmospheric room hung with tapestries that boasts many original features including stained-glass windows and carved stonework. If you can take your eyes off the pretty views, you'll find a menu as accomplished as the setting demands. Expect artful modern dishes from a kitchen that knows its stuff and consistently impresses with its imaginative approach, quality ingredients, and clever combinations. Local produce is used where possible, with vegetable and herbs often arriving courtesy of the manor's gardens. A salad of hand-dived roast scallops is a typical starter, served with salt cod crème fraîche, cauliflower pannacotta and three preparations of lemon, followed by slow-roast belly of Gloucestershire Old Spot pork with prune purée, confit potatoes, red cabbage jam, liquorice jus and crackling, and desserts such as warm caramelised pear tart with caramel ice cream and pear foam.

M4 junct 17, follow signs for Castle Combe via Chippenham
Nearest station: Bath Spa

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