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Dreaming of a roaring fireplace
December 8, 2011
After a few false starts, winter has well and truly arrived. Annoyingly it’s arrived just as my boiler has decided to pack up, so I’m sitting at my desk wrapped in a blanket and lusting after an open fire, a glass of red wine and some homemade parsnip soup with warm crusty bread smothered in melting butter… ok, so now I’m so cold I’m hallucinating.
I’m hoping that sharing my favourite fire-lit spots in the UK might help warm me up a bit. If that doesn’t work I might have to resort to doing some exercise, and that would never do.
The Chequers Inn, Buckinghamshire
Seventeenth century wooden beams, wooden floors, guest ales, beef and oxtail tortellini and a wonderful open fire. You just would, wouldn’t you? Spend a wintry Sunday ensconced in Scrabble or do the sensible thing and stay the whole weekend.
The Griffin Inn, East Sussex
Tucked away in a sleepy Sussex village, this is an ancient inn that cuddles you with wintry cosiness. And there isn’t just one huge fireplace, but three! Enjoy wonderful food and pray for a romantic snowfall outside to make things entirely perfect.
The College Arms, Warwickshire
Get all lyrical (and warm) in Shakespeare Country with a tankard of locally-brewed Hook Norton ale, a book and an enormous inglenook fireplace. For full Falstaffian effect, get a bit tipsy and fall asleep upstairs (having booked a room beforehand preferably).
The Fauconberg Arms, North Yorkshire
You can’t get more wild and wintry than the Yorkshire Moors, so enjoying proper home-cooked food by the fire in this lovely Moor-side pub feels all the warmer. If you choose to stay in one of the cosy bedrooms, you get to eat a hearty full breakfast by the fire too. Warning: you may never leave.
The George Inn, North Yorkshire
The ultimate in authentic wintry boltholes, the little George Inn feels miles from anywhere (it is) and might really on its lovely coal fire as the only source of warmth (it doesn’t). Flagged floors, wooden beams and tankards hung from every spare bit of ceiling – this is as good as it gets.
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