A 450-year-old former drovers' inn on the edge of Shefford Woodlands, in the North Wessex Downs near Lambourn, in an area the locals call the Valley of the Racehorse. The walls are hung with black-and-white photographs of local trainers, the corridors with framed jockey silks, and a taxidermied fox greets you in the bar. Fourteen rooms, recently redesigned by Flora Soames and Octavia Dickinson, each with Hypnos beds and Bramley toiletries; some with courtyard views, some facing the garden. Dog-friendly, just off the M4 and under two hours from London.
