by Porthleven, Cornwall
Porthleven, Britain’s southernmost port, has swapped its traditional tin and china clay wares for some of the best ice cream, seafood tapas and fresh fish from the Cornish coast. The Harbor Inn (doubles from £109 B&B; harbourinnporthleven.co.uk) is the place to stay, a newly refurbished pub with rooms right by the sea, serving fish caught in nearby Newlyn and an ‘upgrading fish shop’. chips”: curry sauce. , pickled egg and onion and bread with butter. Elsewhere, Amelies (ameliesporthleven.co.uk) overlooks fishing boats and offers small plates of Cornish mackerel pâté and salt and pepper calamari, crispy pizzas and fragrant bouillabaisse. Leave room to choose at least two of the 30 ice cream flavors at Nauti (nautibutice.co.uk) and then stock up on Cornish delights at Pengelly’s (pengellys-porthleven.co.uk) before finally heading home.
Tisbury (Wiltshire)
The largest village in Wiltshire’s bucolic and beautiful Nadder Valley, Tisbury is surrounded by working farms and the 9,000-acre Fonthill Estate, all of which contribute to a thriving food scene, loved by locals and visitors, who come to stay in the lovely Beckford Arms (doubles from £125 B&B; beckfordarms.com). A gloriously rambling pub with large fireplaces full of flames, bushels of hops above the bar and a chalkboard menu of shotgun shells as well as daily specials, it’s the perfect rural retreat. Enjoy candlelit dinners with meat and game from local producers and vegetables from Beckford’s garden.
The Beckford is an ideal base for exploring Tisbury and the surrounding area, full of farm shops and restaurants. Immerse yourself in Messums (messums.com), an art center and gallery that also has an exhibition space in London, to see the latest exhibitions and indulge in coffee and artisan cakes, or a lunch of modern British dishes in the spacious restaurant. You can also visit Bird & Carter (birdandcarter.co.uk), in the neighboring village of Fonthill Bishop, a fireplace-lit restaurant that is the perfect place to refuel after a walk around the rolling Fonthill Estate.
A five-minute drive from the pub, Tisbury’s quiet main street offers a handful of food emporiums. Try the Tisbury Deli (tisburydeli.co.uk), packed with hand-picked cheeses, charcuterie and Mediterranean delicacies. There’s also Provenance (provenanceonline.co.uk), which produces salads, pastries and tarts fresh daily, along with pantry items such as pickled wild garlic sprouts and relishes, and home-cooked takeaway meals. All ingredients are locally sourced and each product contains no additives or preservatives. Further up the road, Beckford Bottle Shop (beckfordbottleshop.com, pictured above) has a collection of 3,000 wines and over 2,000 spirits to peruse, with Beatons Tearooms (beatonstearooms.co.uk) the perfect place to pop into heat. hot chocolate and a piece of sticky cake (great GF options).
Deal, Kent
Deal, one of Kent’s most charming seaside towns, has taken over from Margate with a thriving foodie culture, encompassing everything from unctuous French cheeses and spicy charcuterie at delicatessen No Name Shop .co.uk) to fish. straight from the boat at 81 Beach Street (great GF/vegan options, 81beachstreet.co.uk). Stay at The Rose (double from £100 B&B; therosedeal.com, pictured below), a former pub converted into a quirky eight-bedroom boutique hotel with bold colors and an eclectic mix of retro and contemporary artwork and furniture , and Nuno Mendes, formerly of Chiltern Firehouse, as executive chef of the hotel’s excellent restaurant. Elsewhere in the city, evenings begin with cocktails at The Lane and dinner at Updown Farmhouse (updownfarmhouse.com), a charming restaurant with rooms. Before heading home, visit Arno & Co (94 High Street) for small-batch wines, craft beers and tapas, and Jenkins Fishmongers for excellent fish pâtés.
Orford (Suffolk)
Oozing classic Suffolk charm, Orford is increasingly known for its food scene, as well as its 12th-century castle and endless skies over the shingle spit of Orford Ness. It is also famous for its oysters and the best place to try them is Butley Orford Oysterage, where the Pinney family serves seafood and smoked fish that they have been producing since 1959 (pinneysoforford.co.uk). For sweet treats, head to Pump Street Bakery (pumpstreetchocolate.com), where artisanal chocolate made in-house shares shelf space with the flakiest pastries and fresh sourdough loaves. Stay at Crown & Castle (double from £113 B&B; Crownandcastle.co.uk), an award-winning guestroom restaurant, with a menu of luxury dishes, using Orford seafood and locally reared meats. Pick up some to take home from Orford Meat Shed on Bakers Lane, which also offers a great line of local cheeses.
Clitheroe, Lancashire
The culinary heart of the beautiful Ribble Valley, visit Clitheroe on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday to immerse yourself in one of the region’s best food markets, held since the 12th century. Pair local produce with a bottle or two of wine from D Byrne & Co’s 4,000-count selection (dbyrne-finewines.co.uk) and stock up on breakfast treats at Cowmans Famous Sausage Shop (cowmans.co.uk). , where the 70 different flavors of sausages include curried beef and jammy pork. For something more classic, book dinner at Tom’s Table (tomstable.co.uk), a French-inspired bistro offering traditional Gallic dishes alongside locally sourced steaks. Stay at the Spinning Block Hotel, part of Holmes Mill, a restored textile mill dating back to the 1820s, with 39 elegant rooms situated next to the Bowland Food Hall (above), which is part delicatessen, part farm shop , part café and offers spectacular breakfasts, including crispy sausages with bacon and free-range eggs Benedict (doubles from £75 room only, jamesplaces.com).
