Black Horse, The

Woburn village, home to one of the most celebrated stately homes in Britain, also has an equally traditional side to its character in the form of a fine Georgian pub that has moved with the times without forgetting its essential purpose.

The Black Horse works successfully to meet the needs of the locals and the many visitors who are drawn to the area by Woburn Abbey itself, home to the Russell family for nearly 400 years and one of the starting points for the surge of interest in stately homes some fifty years ago.

Woburn is often described as 'a Georgian town of village proportions', and has more than its fair share of antique shops, auctioneers, gift shops and, of course, glorious eccentrics.

There are two basic menus on offer. The all day menu, served from noon to 6.30 pm Monday to Saturday, offers sandwiches, a deli board, with cold cuts, cheese and fish, in abundance. Amongst the delicacies are home roast ham, anchovies, smoked mackerel pâté, enormous stuffed olives, grapes and Lincolnshire Poacher, which for those who don't know is mature cheddar style with speed. Traditional afternoon tea is also served.

The à la carte offers the same deli board in tandem with starters such as grilled sardines on toast, feta, basil and sun-dried tomato tart, with some either/or items that double up as optional main courses and include seafood chowder, sauté chicken livers with black pudding and bacon, or a well constituted Caesar salad.

Main courses of 36 day dry-aged Aberdeen Angus rump cap steak, alongside that old favourite of many, surf and turf beef medallions and garlic prawns demonstrate the ability of the char grill, or there is bacon wrapped whole baked sea bass, Irish lamb stew, and sausage of the week and mash, to name but a few.

Bearing in mind the increasing versatility of the sausage (one place in Nottingham offers over 50 different varieties I am told) this is a dish that can no longer be lightly ignored. The Fishy Few should also be aware of the roast cod fillet with steamed clams and mustard mash, a very bracing dish.

Knickerbocker Glory, rose water pannacotta, and Bailey's brûlée round off a meal that can be guaranteed to hit the spot, and for the cheese buffs a plate of Kirkham's Lancashire, with Golden Cross and Oxford Blue, perhaps with a glass of 10 year old Tawny should do the trick nicely.

The wine list is a classic example of how to satisfy the maximum number of people without filling an enormous cellar with bottles that the owner may gloat over, but take years to shift and then often in the wrong direction - commercially speaking. Few bottles stray above the £30 mark, a fair smattering keep their heads down below the £20 rampart, and there's a very fair selection by the glass. Keep an eye lifted for the Massaya Classic 2003 from the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. These peoples' forbears introduced wine to Europe over 3,000 years ago. At under £20 it's a steal.

Click on to their very accessible Website for menu changes and special offers.