The Howard Arms

Six rooms above a 17th-century coaching inn on Ilmington's Lower Green, The Howard Arms sits eight miles south of Stratford-upon-Avon in one of the Cotswolds' least-toured villages. The stone building has kept its low beams, open hearth, and flagged bar floor through several restorations.

The kitchen sources from the Vale of Evesham — asparagus in spring, game through autumn — and the pub lunch trade draws locals rather than coach parties. Each room is individually furnished with antique pieces; no two share the same layout.

Ilmington sits a twenty-minute drive from both Stratford and Chipping Campden, making it a quieter base for the southern Cotswolds than either town. The village has no traffic lights and the green outside the front door is unfenced common land.