Northleach, England - The Wheatsheaf Inn (Cotswolds)

I stopped for a cosy, fireside, pre-dinner cocktail at The Wheatsheaf Inn last weekend during my stay in the Cotswolds. Through its windows The Wheatsheaf emitted a warm glow as we arrived, already dark at 4pm in the afternoon. Upon first and second glances the image of the perfect country pub emerged. As I explored the pub, each new nook revealed an even cozier vignette than the last.

"The Wheatsheaf is a coaching inn, where in years gone by teams of horses and coaches would be kept in the stables below, and above blindingly drunken parties would be held where coachmen, travelers and mysterious highwaymen would drink, dance, tell tales, sing and generally be very badly behaved."

We settled into our velvet clad chairs by the fire in a room filled with Victorian paintings, warm paint colors, stone floors and wooden tables. I had their award winning Bloody Mary with fresh shaved horseradish on top. Delicious. 

By all accounts, the food at The Wheatsheaf does not disappoint. Ingredients are sourced locally and the menu changes accordingly. I will definitely be going back at some point to enjoy a meal here.

There are also 14 well-appointed rooms upstairs that you can book should you want to stay at The Wheatsheaf Inn (Kate Moss accommodated her wedding guests here and there is an original Sebastian Kruger painting of her hanging at the inn):