The UK's 10 best cosy pubs with rooms

With the night’s drawing in and the season of mellow fruitfulness in full swing, there's nothing like an overnight stay in one of Britain's warm and friendly country pubs.

Published by the UK travel specialist Cool Places, the new Cool Pubs & Inns Guide to the UK has loads to choose from, all serving great food and with stylish rooms to stagger up to at the end of the evening. Here, editor of the guide Martin Dunford, picks his top ten pubs to hunker down and enjoy a memorable autumn break.

The Crown Inn, West Sussex

Occupying an almost impossibly desirable position overlooking Dial Post's village green, this pub has a big and deserved reputation for the quality of its food, and recently added four comfortable and beautifully appointed rooms if you want to stay over. It’s dog friendly, and all rooms have fast wifi, smart TVs, mini fridges, Nespresso machines and all sorts of treats, plus high-quality vintage beds and bedding. As an autumn break, it’s perfect, and very handy for visiting the fabulous Knepp estate nearby, which offers seasonal safaris around their unique re-wilding project. Double rooms with breakfast from £120 a night. (coolplaces.co.uk)

The Bull Inn, Oxfordshire

Charlie and Willow Crossley's self-styled 'home away from home’ is a tremendous pub that manages to be both sharp and stylish and ridiculously comfortable at the same time. It's the sort of place where it's impossible not to relax, with all the bells and whistles a good gastropub should have – delicious locally sourced, unpretentious food, decent ales and an all-round cosy atmosphere – together with a comfortable set of boutique rooms. There's loads to see and do nearby: Wychwood Forest offers wonderful walking amid fall foliage, and is good for building an appetite. Double rooms from £99 a night – plus breakfast. (coolplaces.co.uk)

The Crown & Anchor, Wiltshire   

Ham's Crown & Anchor ticks all the boxes a proper 21st century pub should – welcoming dogs, walkers and cyclists and serving local ales and excellent food that’s a perfect blend of local, seasonal and above all British dishes but with a modern twist – bar snacks like spicy lamb scotch eggs and lovely local partridge and venison along with classics like fish and chips and pithivier pie. It also has some cosy rooms upstairs and is a perfect location for enjoying country walks, with three long-distance footpaths nearby and a great cycle route too. Double rooms with breakfast from £100 a night. (coolplaces.co.uk)

The Swan, Somerset

Anyone seeking a quintessential country pub in a picturesque Somerset village need look no further than the lovely Swan at Wedmore. With the gregarious Annie overseeing operations and Tom Blake, formerly of River Cottage, heading up the kitchen, this handsome former coaching inn is in great hands food-wise, plus it has 7 stylish rooms upstairs. Furnishings are mostly French vintage style: mirrored dressers, bedside tables, armchairs and window shutters – all very chic – while the food is local, seasonal and much of it homemade, on a nice, simple menu that will set you up for some great days catching up with the autumnal bird migrations in the nearby Somerset Levels. Double rooms with breakfast from £125 a night. (coolplaces.co.uk) 

The Sibton White Horse, Suffolk

This long-running Suffolk pub is a real magnet for walkers and birders, and is also a great place to eat, with a menu makes the most of the great produce that Suffolk provides – classic pub grub at lunchtime and a more refined dinner menu in the evening. They have five country-style rooms in a separate block next door so you can linger a little longer after dinner, and the pub is popular with visitors to the nearby RSPB reserve at Minsmere, where there is a regular plethora of autumn wildlife. Double rooms with breakfast from £110 a night; sometimes a 2-night minimum stay. (coolplaces.co.uk)

The Wiveton Bell, Norfolk

Situated just a mile from the North Norfolk coast at Blakeney, the lights of the Wiveton Bell are a beacon of welcome on a dark autumn night, and in summer both the pub and garden are a magnet for walkers, birdwatchers and everyone else enjoying this beautiful part of the country. Best of all, the food they serve is terrific – locally sourced, seasonal and delicious, and they have 2 AA rosettes to prove it– plus they have six irresistible rooms to tumble into once you've exhausted the joys of the beamed bar and restaurant. Double rooms with breakfast from £160 a night; sometimes a 2-night minimum stay. (coolplaces.co.uk)

The Duncombe Arms, Staffordshire

There’s nothing like the Peak District in the autumn, and this refurbished village local, overlooking the Dove Valley, is the perfect base – a modern country inn with 10 cosy rooms, all individually decorated in a contemporary country style with stylish artisan fabrics and wallpapers, mood lighting and bespoke art on the walls. The food is delicious and the surroundings ideal – pretty much everything in the kitchen is homemade, and the ambience suitably pubby, with a roaring fire in winter, lots of seasonal game and their own specially brewed ale! Double rooms with breakfast from £125 a night; sometimes a 2-night minimum stay. (coolplaces.co.uk)

The Cavendish Arms, Cumbria

When it comes to finding the perfect English village, Cartmel is pretty hard to beat, and this pub is a perfect hideaway for exploring the Southern Lakes – a 450-year-old coaching inn that oozes history from every exposed oak beam. It has a range of simple but elegant rooms to suit most budgets, and food-wise they pride themselves on offering a contemporary selection of seasonal English dishes – think twice-baked cheese soufflé followed by local lamb, fish and seafood from the nearby coast, and of course Cartmel’s famous local delicacy, Sticky Toffee Pudding. Double rooms with breakfast from £115 a night. (coolplaces.co.uk)

The Felin Fach Griffin, Powys

Situated on the edge of the Brecon Beacons, it would be hard to find a better autumnal hideaway than this rather special country inn. Not only does it have 7 very comfortable rooms with big beds, Roberts Radios, homemade biscuits, fresh flowers and posh toiletries (and no TVs!), they also serve a menu of seasonal dishes that draws diners for far and wide, made with ingredients from the Welsh borders, whether it's beef or lamb, local cheese, or herbs and veg picked from their own kitchen garden. Dogs and children are most definitely welcomed. Double rooms with breakfast from £145 a night. (coolplaces.co.uk)

The Bridge Inn, Midlothian

You don’t have to fight with your fellow guests for a waterfront view at this stylish canal-side pub, located in the historic village of Ratho just outside Edinburgh. Each of inn’s 4 individually designed guest rooms has views of the canal and its wildlife, and they are all very comfortable, while downstairs is a proper pub, with a terrace overlooking the canal and cosy fires indoors when the autumnal chill begins to bite. The menu features homegrown vegetables and pork that they rear themselves and it’s no surprise that they have won an award for something or other virtually every year for the last seven years. As for things to do, take a boat trip out towards Linlithgow or cycle along the canal into Edinburgh. Double rooms with breakfast from £105 a night. (coolplaces.co.uk)