The Peat Spade Inn – Longstock

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One of the country’s best fishing inns, The Peat Spade is as good for shooting parties as it is for idyllic, bolthole weekend getaways. It’s a favourite meeting place for enjoying good food and ales from Hampshire’s Upham brewery, the inn’s impressive owners. The spacious dining area is furnished with wooden tables and a pretty assortment of chairs. A charming extension, opening on to the garden, with flagstone floor and chandelier, creates yet more space for the much-admired food. The inn is solid and reassuring, standing in the dreamy valley of the Test with its footbridges and slow-moving chalk streams. It has been welcoming fly fishermen since the 19th century, with ghillies and managers on hand to chat, advise and make arrangements. The eight stylish bedrooms in the main house and the old peat house behind are named after members of a Victorian fraternity of fly fishermen, the Mayfly Mess, a nostalgic photograph of whom hangs in the private dining room. Doubles from £79.

Want to find out more? Visit the hotel's website.