Great Pubs of England: Thirty-three of Britain's Best Hostelries from the Home Counties to the North: Thirty-three of England's Best Hostelries from the Home Counties to the North

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A country pub with good food and rooms, often full with a joyous noise of people drinking, eating, chatting and generally kicking back and enjoying themselves. It sits by sparkling River Lugg, with al fresco tables from which to enjoy the views and the gentle birdsong coming from the kitchen garden. England is brimming with wonderful pubs - which makes the establishments that made the cut for this new tome very special indeed.

It's not really a beer pub but offers a wide-ranging wine list – including fine ones by the glass – plus local gins. The pub champions local produce – in the form of the ales and cider on tap, and the meat, fish, fruit, veg, eggs, cheeses and yogurts are sourced from named local suppliers. PHILHARMONIC DINING ROOMS, LIVERPOOL: This beautiful Grade I-listed establishment is 'a place lauded by heritage body Historic England as "a cathedral among pubs" and "the pinnacle of the gin palace"', the book reveals.The 16 bedrooms are cosy and unpretentious, decorated in a simple, modern style with a hint of nautical cool.

Inside is like being transported into a rustic-chic corner of Provence, with red-and-black tiled floors, a handsome wood-burner and retro café tables, topped with pots of herbs and candles in wax-covered bottles. Set in a tucked-away honey-stone village of much charm, this 16th-century pub combines the attributes of a relaxing local and a stylish retreat, with an old-school bar, dining room and eight gorgeous bedrooms, each styled by a different designer. Stratford-upon-Avon is Shakespeare country and there’s no public house more steeped in the theatrical traditions of the town than the Dirty Duck. One of the best seaside pubs with rooms in the Isles of Scilly is the only pub on car-free Tresco and has been designed in keeping with the heritage of the building, styled with a New England, nautical theme throughout.This amount includes seller specified domestic postage charges as well as applicable international postage, dispatch, and other fees. People flock to this destination dining spot – one of Seatown’s top gastro pubs with rooms – for its elevated British classics.

The River Wye is right opposite and sitting outside you can hear the pleasant gurgle of running water tickle your ears as you sip on a sharp and refreshing cider.Discreetly tucked down a quaint and quiet Chelsea street, it was easy to forget the busy, bustling London streets just around the corner.

The portion sizes are friendly when it comes to food but the real reason you’re here is for the craic. Over the centuries, it’s 'evolved into a warren of idiosyncratic rooms – the Ladies’ Parlour, the Linen Press Room, the Scullery – with tobacco-stained walls, pitched wooden floors, gas lighting, ornate mirrors, and a series of cast-iron fireplaces and open ranges that, when all ablaze, set the fire alarms jangling at such a pitch that they drown out the peal of the bells from nearby Beverley Minster'.

THE GUNTON ARMS, THORPE MARKET, NORWICH: This pub is run by landlord Ivor Braka, known as the 'rock ’n’ roll art dealer'. A smart but relaxed country inn, in a quiet corner of the Lake District, with a deserved reputation for its classy food. Smack-bang between two separate Royal Shakespeare Company theatres – as I said, this is Shakespeare country – the pub is often frequented by actors nursing a few pints after a night’s performance. There are eight bedrooms in the inn, not large but homely yet stylish and beautifully equipped, with thoughtful touches. HAUNCH OF VENISON, SALISBURY: This charming timber-framed boozer dates back to 1320, the book reveals, and a ‘wealth of paranormal activity is served up’, with ‘reports of skittering chairs and shattering candleholders (all, frustratingly, occurring just out of CCTV reach)’.