There’s no need to wait for inclement weather if you want to visit the Ark, because this sympathetically remodelled 16th-century country inn overlooking the village cricket green has year-round appeal. There are sunny-day tables outside if you want to lap up the “idyllic setting”, while winter sees warming log fires and flickering candles. The interior blends ancient beams, floorboards and cottagey furniture with a dash of modernity, and the kitchen delivers some “superb” but homely cooking. Much of the kitchen’s seasonal produce is sourced from within a 50-mile radius of the pub, and the result might be anything from battered haddock and chips or roast free-range chicken leg with garlicky roast new potatoes, creamed chicory and buttered kale to twice-baked smoked haddock and Gruyère soufflé or pan-fried fillet of sea bass with brown shrimp and caper butter sauce. Add daily blackboard specials, a simpler lunch offering and real ales on handpump, and you’ve an inn worth a detour.