Red Lion may be Britain’s most common pub name, but this 18th-century, whitewashed, thatched village gastropub is way beyond the ordinary. In 2008, Wiltshire born Guy Manning and his wife Brittany arrived, bringing with them skills learned at triple-Michelin-starred Per Se in Manhattan. This is a serious foodie destination so don't confine yourself to dropping in for a pint of Cow Down or a damson gin, sipping it in the garden. Dine à la carte or, if you simply can’t choose, go for five tasting courses. Locally sourced, home-grown and foraged ingredients appear in ‘stupendous’ dishes such as salad of summer melons and tomatoes, feta, pickled red onion, watercress (from the river); turbot, black pudding, cauliflower, Rathfinny velouté; the signature chateaubriand bèarnaise for two. Across the road, a converted bungalow is home to five bedrooms with decking overlooking the River Avon and fields beyond, each with a king or super-king-size bed, mini bar, Bang & Olufsen sound system. 'Benjamin' has an ensuite rainfall shower and in-room roll-top bath. In the morning, breakfast on Brittany’s delectable pastries with a reviving Buck’s Fizz. ‘Would happily spend the rest of my life here, frankly.’