1 RAM INN
Firle, East Sussex

Some of the rural bohemian sorts who populate this corner of East Sussex are none too pleased that the Ram Inn, previously a ramshackle, kooky watering hole, has tidied up both its act and its orchard.

This is now a pub garden for all ages, belonging to an establishment that caters to our modern desires — for good food, interesting drinking and cheery service. In a beautiful, fiercely preserved village at the foot of the Downs, the sprawling Ram is hugged on two sides by plum and apple trees, with two dozen wooden tables in the shade and a kids’ garden set aside, complete with pirate ship.

You can sit and sample the top-end pub menu or the guest beers, and if the midsummer crowds are too much, don’t despair: the pub backs onto a wonderful escape valve — one of the prettiest village cricket pitches in England. Tel: 01273 858222, theram-inn.com

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2 THE ROYAL OAK
Wineham, West Sussex

If it’s sunny and it’s a Sunday and you’re hungry and you’re fussy about your beer, there is no better place for you than Wineham’s only tavern (a hop south of the A272). There are others in this feature that would claim to be the quintessential English pub, but they would be beaten firmly by this 13th-century classic.

It’s a black- and white-timbered building set in tree-shaded lawns, with fields out back and the off chance of a horse tethered out front. Then there’s the food. The £7.50 ploughmans, served on wooden boards, are chunky, crusty and generous. The £10.25 Sussex roast beef is properly rare. The greengage crumble is the nail in the coffin of your plans for a brisk afternoon stroll. Perfect. Tel: 01444 881252

3 SQUARE & COMPASS
Worth Matravers, Dorset

This is a magical slice of the sort of British eccentricity that you suspected only existed in Ealing Studios comedies. The pub is really two 18th-century cottages that have morphed into one winningly informal alehouse. There is no proper bar counter: you order prize-winning real ales, perries and home-pressed ciders from a serving hatch in the wall.

The snugs are crammed full of quirky collectables and stone carvings litter the two gardens outside, where there are numerous stone tables for tucking into a leisurely lunch while you gaze at the magnificent Jurassic Coast below. There’s also a fossil museum on site, with some excellent examples, as well as Roman remains. Tel: 01929 439229, squareandcompasspub.co.uk

4 SHAVE CROSS INN
Bridport, Dorset

Once an overnight stop for monks en route to the shrine at Whitchurch Canonicorum, this 700-year-old pub is now a fabulous place that could fit as easily into the gastropub chart as the family-friendly top 10. Kids adore the gardens, with their goldfish pond, wishing well and play area, while adults love everything else, not least the beers and ciders, which have helped the Inn scoop two Camra Pub of the Year awards, and the award-winning menu. Tel: 02308 868358, theshavecrossinn.co.uk; doubles from £160, B&B

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