Introducing The George Inn, Cotswolds - A Characterful Stay For Your Cotswolds Holiday
Introducing The George Inn, Barford St Michael: A characterful country pub with rooms on the edge of staycation holiday hotspot The Cotswolds
A lovely 16th-century thatched pub with nine bedrooms, wine room and organic garden that makes a great weekend-break travel destination for country walks and gourmet feasts
Just eight miles south of Banbury (less than an hour by train from London Marylebone), the village of Barford St Michael is a pretty village of dark honey-coloured cottages and houses, set on the River Swere, with a church that dates back to Norman times. The George Inn is a traditional thatched pub with a flagstone floor and local ales on tap, which was revived in 2019 when Laura and Louis Holtzhausen reopened it after two years of restoration.
The interiors demonstrate a distinct eye for detail, with vintage film posters, classic English paint colours and soft, tactile fabrics, while the restaurant draws on local ingredients and suppliers for à la carte dining, pub classics and Sunday lunches. Continuing the ethos for locavore creatives, you can spot floral-animal artworks by Georgia Fiennes, and crockery from nearby Eliza May Pottery. The organic garden was completed during lockdown.
The bedrooms consist of nine lovingly designed rooms, all with comfy beds, Nespresso coffee-makers and ensuite bathrooms with underfloor heating and toiletries by luxury British brand 100 Acres – the three rooms above the main pub are more traditional, with original beams and roll-top baths. The six garden rooms are all dog friendly, and lead directly to the terrace and garden. The George Inn is family friendly, and children can be accommodated in most bedrooms with cots and extra beds set up on request, while children’s menus are available in the restaurant.
The food and drink offering is led by Italian-born, French-trained chef Valerio Grimaldi-Plant who has created a menu that joins the dots between refined pub dining and special occasion feasts, using local ingredient and suppliers where possible for dishes such as roast chicken terrine, globe artichoke tart, curried cauliflower soup and 28-day aged steak with beef-dripping chips, as well as puddings such as orange baba and dark chocolate bombe. The Sunday lunches are epic productions worth planning a country walk around. Alongside local ales such as Hook Norton and Purity are seasonal cocktails and an accomplished wine list with over 100 bottles of New and Old World discoveries. The Wine Room itself is a private dining space with chef’s table and space for six people, for intimate gatherings.
The area boasts many good walking routes through Oxfordshire’s rolling countryside or pretty Cotswolds villages like Great Tew. Nearby attractions such as Broughton Castle, Bleinheim Palace, the Cotswold Distillery and Cotswold Brewing Company are within easy reach by car. Discover the area’s local boutiques like Nellie and Dove in Banbury for fashion and Station Mill in Chipping Norton for antiques. Meanwhile Daylesford Farmshop is loved for its organic food and stylish homeware, while art lovers can explore Wychwood art gallery in Deddington. Other activities in the area include clay-pigeon shooting, and for members there’s a trip to Soho Farmhouse which is just under a ten-minute drive away.
Prices start from £110 staying on a B&B basis. Visit www.thegeorgebarford.co.uk to make a booking.
