First impressions

Stone-built, 16th-century hotel, exterior walls covered in variegated jasmine.

Setting the scene

Inglenook fireplaces, low beams, tartan carpets and antique weapons on the walls.

Why it’s special

Good food and snug rooms in a tucked-away setting; young and friendly staff (the chefs got my car going when it wouldn’t start!). Plus you might see Joanna Trollope or Jodie Kidd in the bar . . .

Hitting the sack

Fourteen bedrooms with large and comfy beds. Each is named: we liked Winson, Westwell and Windrush.

Sampling the fare

Imaginative menus: fishcakes with aioli and lemon (£4.95), roast salmon fillet (£10), chocolate and orange pudding (£4.50). Good and reasonably priced wine list.

Access all areas

Pub and restaurant are wheelchair-friendly but not the bedrooms.

The bottom line

B&B doubles from £115.

What we think

Hard to find but hard to leave. History and haute cuisine at an affordable price.

Need to know

The New Inn at Coln (01285 750651, www.new-inn.co.uk), Coln St Aldwyns, Glos.

Local knowledge: The Cotswolds

Vincent Crump asked the natives to share the secrets of England’s prettiest patch

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• Picnic in the perfect park

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Background

• Cotswolds88hotel, Painswick, Gloucestershire

• Dial House, Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire

• The New Inn at Coln, Gloucestershire

• The Priory Inn, Tetbury, Gloucestershire

• The Hotel Kandinsky, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Background

• Hotel on the Park, Cheltenham, Gloucs

• Cotswold Water Park Four Pillars Hotel, South Cerney, Gloucestershire

• The Kings Head Inn, Bledington, Gloucestershire

• Wild Duck Inn, Ewen, Cirencester, Gloucestershire

• Painswick Hotel & Restaurant, Painswick, Gloucestershire

Background

• The Village Pub, Barnsley, Gloucestershire

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