At a time when diners are looking for some culinary pizzazz, thank goodness there are places like The Woodman Inn and Restaurant where guests are encouraged to reflect on the glorious bygone days, and if it's accompanied by some excellent cooking, it can hardly be bettered. Even the setting is wonderful; a welcome addition to the peaceful hamlet of Fernham in the Vale of the White Horse.

The food is typically gastropub fare, often with British and European flavours, so starters arrive in a straightforward manner, baked mini camembert, chicken liver pâté, smoked chicken Caesar salad and deep fried whitebait. Main courses hit some conventional notes with char-grilled 10oz sirloin steak, slow roast lamb shank, and The Woodman steak, mushroom and ale pie, while Thai red chicken curry shows how the cooking occasionally veers towards Asia.

Sometimes you don't have to travel all the way to Fernham for that pint of ale, there's Woodman on Tour, the mobile bar for all outdoor events.