Prices from:
£60 per night
Here’s a place full of surprises. From the pavement, the Talbot Hotel Oundle looks every inch the classic coaching inn of yore, cornerstone of the pretty town’s harmonious 17th-century high street. And sure enough, the inviting front bar is ablaze with hissing logs and stout with period furniture – the fire has burned here since 1623. But delve further back, and you’ll find a network of rooms reimagined by owner Kevin Charity to please every possible kind of patron. First comes a bijou champagne bar with a full wall of vintages, Alice in Wonderland chairs and fairylit twigs. Next, a squashy-sofa zone perfect for lunching ladies or afternoon teas, supplied by a small bakery’s worth of home-made pastries. And finally, the more formal dining room, where the cosmopolitan waiting staff ferry David Simms’ top-class cooking to table. Bedrooms are cosily traditional and set in two wings around the original coaching yard. Between them rises a colossal oak staircase plundered from nearby Fotheringhay Castle in 1626 – it’s said that Mary Queen of Scots walked down it to her beheading.
The Fotheringhay Suite has two bedrooms, a double and a twin; otherwise, cots can be added to your room for free; or an extra bed for £15 per night, including breakfast. The ever-flexible kitchen will whip up children’s portions of pretty much anything on the menu on request.
Ground-floor ‘classic’ rooms are all dog-friendly for small to medium-sized pooches; there’s a £10 surcharge, and you get a doggie bowl and treats in the room.
The glass-walled garden room is at the heart of the inn, and service extends out into the courtyard when the sun shines. There’s also a walled garden tucked-away behind the inn, prettily laid out with box hedges and tables on the lawn for quiet imbibing.
The Whitwell Room is perfect for weddings, with its twin fireplaces and original oak panelling. There is a more summery function suite overlooking that secret garden, too.
What’s the Damage?
35 rooms: doubles £75; feature rooms from £110; suites from £130; singles from £60. Dinner, bed & breakfast deals; half-price Sunday night if staying Saturday night.
What Else?
Gongs
AA 3 Star Hotel & 1 Rosette
Kevin Charity’s nine-month restoration, completed under the careful eye of English Heritage, has reduced the hotel’s room count to 35, making space for seven fabulous ‘feature rooms’ full of intricate marquetry and gilt mirrors. They include the Burleigh Suite, with corkscrewing four-poster and clawfoot bath, and the Ashton Suite, with an eccentric beamy partition separating bedroom and lounge. The pick for history buffs is the Mary Queen of Scots Room, which leads directly onto the staircase she descended to her execution. There are also 25 ‘classic’ doubles and twins and two singles, and the atmosphere throughout remains reassuringly true to the inn’s heritage, with mazy passageways and little doorways to duck through: don’t miss the enchanting love messages etched into a leaded corridor window in 1755.
No two bedrooms look alike, there are plenty of period quirks throughout, and lush Beltrami linen to keep things comfortable. The H2K toiletries, from Harrogate, are especially good for sensitive skin. Tea trays and complimentary water and biscuits in all the rooms too, and ironing kit.
High-definition Freeview TV, free internet access and iPod docking stations in all the bedrooms.
Massages can be arranged on the premises with advance notice, plus hair and beauty for brides, naturally.
Eggs Royale, Benedict and with Scottish smoked haddock, as well the full English and a particularly mouth-watering mushroom bagel with fried eggs and sun-blushed tomato. The buffet is classy, with Danish pastries, berry compote, seeds and honey.
What’s the Damage?
35 rooms: doubles £75; feature rooms from £110; suites from £130; singles from £60. Dinner, bed & breakfast deals; half-price Sunday night if staying Saturday night.
What Else?
Gongs
AA 3 Star Hotel & 1 Rosette
The Talbot styles itself an ‘eatery and coffee house’, which has a suitably Georgian ring – but don’t be fooled into thinking the food matches the informality of the name. True, there are “classics” to complement the six or eight mains on the a la carte menu, but even there you can expect something special: treacle-cured black bacon and local Colston Bassett Stilton on your Angus burger; slow-braised venison in your suet pudding. The sharing platters are especially imaginative: the antipasti includes goose salami, smoked duck and buffalo Mozzarella; there’s a mezze one with baba ghanoush and Moroccan spiced apricot chutney; and the whole smoked Camembert comes with rosemary focaccia, red onion chutney and green bean salad. There’s a nicely democratic approach to dining here: eat where you will, choose what you wish, irrespective of the time of day. Breakfast and brunch is served 8am-noon, cakes and bakes from the Patisserie Cabinet till 6pm. And as well as proper coffees made behind the heaving cake display, there’s a superior tea menu for afters, including Mao Feng, liquorice and peppermint and ‘spiced red’.
Lincolnshire Poacher rarebit, smoked bacon, apple and sultana chutney
Crab linguine, Portland crab, dill, lemon, chilli, crème fraiche, Parmesan shavings
Fillet of halibut, bubble and squeak, beetroot, grain mustard velouté
Duck breast, orange and thyme puy lentils, green beans, raspberry jelly, marmalade jus
Iced blackberry parfait, blackberry compote, lemon curd, spiced apple sponge
Sundays are a la carte, with beef, pork and lamb typically on the menu, perhaps trimmed with honey-mustard roasted carrots, roasted red onion and roast potatoes (£13-£15) – plus chicken, fish and a veggie option. There’s a full suite of starters (£6-£7), those sharing platters and some ‘lighter bites’ too: though you won’t go home hungry after the Talbot burger.
Barbecues and hog roasts for parties on request.
Lunch: 12 noon- 3pm (6pm Sunday)Dinner: 6pm – 9pm, Food all day Friday-Saturday 12 noon – 9.30pm. Sandwiches, platters and afternoon teas served noon-6pm.
Chapel & Swan Smokehouse, Exning (www.chapelandswan.com)
Seven Wells Butchers, Oundle (www.sevenwells.co.uk)
Wards of Ruskington meats, Sleaford (www.wards-meats.co.uk)
Lutton Farm fruit and veg, Lutton (www.luttonfarm.com)
Kingsthorpe Farm eggs, Polebrook (01832 272034)
Kings Cliffe Bakery, Kings Cliffe (01780 470205)
There are guaranteed to be two foaming local brews, which change weekly: it might be March Hare or Mad Monk from Digfield’s, up the road in Barnwell. There’s a rather funky craft beer menu too: bottle of Dogfish Head, anyone? The wine list is big on value as well as quality, with more than a dozen bottles at under £20, and 15 offered by the glass; plus there are no fewer than five different champagnes, half a dozen malts, premium spirits such as Hendrick’s gin, and a modest cocktail list.
They’re not so much snacks as full-blown tapas here: proper miniature meals put together with the same attention to the detail as the rest of the place. They might include honey-and-mustard roasted Oundle sausages; pulled nine-hour BBQ pork with crispbread; pork belly fingers with apple sauce; or smoked haddock and salmon croquetas with aioli (£3-£5).
11am – 11pm (12 midnight Friday-Sunday)
What’s the Damage?
35 rooms: doubles £75; feature rooms from £110; suites from £130; singles from £60. Dinner, bed & breakfast deals; half-price Sunday night if staying Saturday night.
What Else?
Gongs
AA 3 Star Hotel & 1 Rosette
Take it back home
Tour the brewery that brewed your favourite pint, visit the shop on the farm that reared your delicious Sunday roast beef, and seek out the roadside stalls selling the local crab and samphire on the inn’s menu, the Food Trail features the local artisan producers and suppliers where you can buy to enjoy at home.
Change of scenery
Looking for a pub for lunch following a country walk, a different venue for dinner, or a good café for coffee, light lunch or afternoon tea, then the best in the area are listed below. If you find a new and exciting eatery in the area that’s worthy of a mention on the Food Trail, then please to do let us know – .
Inn Location - The Talbot Hotel
Established in 1960, this family-run soft fruit farm on the border between Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire produces top quality strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Much of it ends up in the UK's top supermarkets but you can still buy it from the farm shop seven days a week from May to October.
The shop at Jan McCourt's award-winning farm stocks a diverse range, from their award-winning meat, to honey, jams and sloe gin and damson whisky, which is made on the farm. Other alcoholic treats include Bitter, Mild & IPA from The Grainstore Brewery in Oakham, while a variety of cow, goat and sheep's cheeses can be found here, along with pork pies, pickles and preserves.
Now run by Robert and Sally Knight, this family butchers in Oundle has been trading since 1905. The full-flavoured beef comes from animals born and bred on the family farm, locally slaughtered and traditionally hung for at least 21 days. Exceptional pork, lamb and poultry is also available, as well as game when in season.
Founded in 2010, the Cellar is a treasure trove for lovers of Artisan cheeses. The owners, Karen and George Brammer, are committed to the use of local produce and also offer an excellent variety of gift items, including cheese boards and hampers.
This award-winning food pub has made a name for its inventive cooking. Work off lunch with a walk to nearby Fotheringhay Castle, birthplace of Richard III and where Mary, Queen of Scots was executed.
Well-loved village inn close to the A1, with seasonal menus bristling with local produce and country-chic bedrooms.
See Inn Places entry
Twelve miles west of Huntingdon, this lovely thatched village inn has won awards for its food and its wine, which is selected by Master of Wine John Hoskins, whose family has been involved with the pub for the past 50 years. Time a visit for the monthly steak night or seasonal game dinners.
Inn Activities
Shopping
Places of interest - Filter results using pins Inn Location - The Talbot Hotel
Burghley has been staging this famous three-day event on its estate every autumn for more than 50 years - no other international horse trial has hosted as many championships. The prize money for first place is £50,000.
Established in 1890, Burghley Park Golf Club at Stamford is situated in attractive parkland surrounding Burghley House; the park itself landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century. Visitors to the club can play on weekdays or after 2.30pm at weekends and on Bank Holidays.
Over 200 acres of clean, spring-fed water offer plenty of water-based fun just a short distance from Stamford, including water-skiing, jet-skiing, canoe or windsurfing
In operation as a visitor attraction since 1977, this railway was originally a vital cross-country route linking East Anglia to the Midlands. The line closed to passengers in 1966 but today offers enthusiasts the complete steam train experience.
Interior designer and owner Fran Bell specialises in ‘designer-led, contemporary country’ at her premises in Oundle. Expect French glass and tableware and the work of plenty up-and-coming designers. The shop is just across the road from the Talbot.
At this shop, next to the Corn Exchange Theatre in historic Stamford, you'll discover children's clothes from babies to eleven years. There are also toys, puzzles and games and a whole host of other items.
Close to the Talbot are the premises of Geraldine Waddington, who offers a range of vintage and antique books. Geraldine is also secretary of the Society of Wood Engravers, so expect some exquisite prints by the group’s artists.
Nigel Hill runs this small family business in Oundle. He maintains he’s a jeweller first and an antique dealer second and his shop is often described as an Aladdin’s cave.
After a visit to the gardens at Castle Ashby, near Northampton, why not visit the former farm buildings where you’ll find special gifts and crafts, the Larder Deli and the Buttery Restaurant.
One of Britain's best-preserved stately homes, this house at Geddington, near Kettering, boasts an outstanding collection of fine art, furniture, tapestries and carpets as well as superb 18th-century landscaped gardens, woodland and a country park.
Located at the centre of a vast 10,000-acre estate, these extensive gardens include formal Italian gardens and an orangery, based on the Villa Madama in Rome. Open daily.
Deep in the Northamptonshire countryside, Lyveden New Bield is a rare survival of the Elizabethan era. See Sir Thomas Tresham's garden, one of the oldest in England, and learn all about the family's link with the famous Gunpowder Plot.
Situated north of Huntingdon, the medieval gatehouse and the Lady Chapel are all that remain of Ramsey's splendid Benedictine abbey. The exterior is accessible all year while the Gatehouse and Lady Chapel are open on the first Sunday of the month between April and September.
With displays, galleries and exhibitions, Stamford's museum explains the fascinating history and archaeology of the town from its origins to the present day. Its archives are available to view for students and researchers and the museum also organises a series of annual public lectures.
Take a stroll through the picturesque village of Hemingford Grey, near Huntingdon, walk along the towpath of the River Ouse and soon you reach the entrance to The Manor, a wonderfully atmospheric, continuously occupied, 900-year-old house that for many years was the home of the children's author, Lucy M. Boston. The garden is open all year; the house can be viewed by appointment only.
www.bestwalks.com
Not far away is Rutland Water with its lakeside paths and pretty views, but Rockingham Forest is closer to the Talbot: visitor centre, café and network of woodland trails can be found within the forest’s sprawling boundaries. There are enjoyable walks, too, at nearby Fotheringhay. However, if you prefer to leave the car behind, there’s a very pleasant, circular five-mile walk starting at the Talbot and heading south along the banks of the Nene. From the Nene Way there are lovely views of Oundle church and adjacent pastures.
www.cycle-route.com
www.northamptonshire.gov.uk
Northamptonshire offers a range of cycle routes ideal for completing in the summer months. The rides take the cyclist along off-road routes where possible. For a totally different experience go from Oundle to Rutland Water where you’ll find peaceful lakeside paths and tracks that take you well away from busy roads.
www.visitpeterborough.com
Peterborough Cathedral is Catherine of Aragon’s final resting place (on the site of the old Abbey), and the year kicks off with a festival in her name, focusing on Henry VIII’s first wife and life in Tudor England. Later in the year there are major festivals and cultural events, including the Peterborough Heritage Festival in June.
By Road: The hotel is hard to miss, commanding the dead centre of Oundle: it’s a 10-minute drive westbound from the A1(M) Jn 17 via the A605; take the A427 into town.
By Rail: Nearest rail stations are 20 minutes’ taxi ride away at Corby and Peterborough
Handsome stone inn in beautiful Stamford, with log fires, interesting, stylish bedrooms and a menu to please all.
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Well-loved village inn close to the A1, with seasonal menus bristling with local produce and country-chic bedrooms.
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In the lovely Vale of Belvoir, a pretty old pub with friendly service, a seasonal menu and sweet, comfortable bedrooms
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