Worcestershire is still in many ways a rural county with a hugely varied landscape from the sweeping grandeur of the Malvern Hills in the west to the fruitful fields and farms of the Vale of Evesham as you head south and east towards the Cotswolds.
Above all, it is a county that rewards a spirit of adventure, revealing many great rural pubs (sometimes tucked away in unexpected places, sometimes down narrow lanes) which offer great locally brewed beer and food sourced from local ingredients.
Within this landscape, said to have inspired the Shire from the Lord of the Rings and the magical world of Narnia, there are pubs which stand out like so many jewels in the county’s crown.
Pubs like the Fleece Inn at Bretforton, the Three Kings Inn at Hanley Castle and the Camp House Inn at Grimley offer a glimpse into a vanished world and also help conserve English traditions, offering enclaves of continuity in an ever-changing world.
TRADITION: The Fleece Inn in Bretforton is a quintessentially English country pub (Image: James Connell/Newsquest photos)
The Fleece Inn, Breforton
The Fleece is a quintessentially English pub on the edge of the Cotswolds. Built in the early 15th century by a farmer named Byrd, the building with its roaring open fires (and strange witch circles to keep out malign forces) retains something of that strong medieval atmosphere and quality.
Some may still remember the last of the descendants, Miss Lola Taplin, described by a pub spokesperson as ‘a formidable character remembered by many of the locals’. Lola bequeathed the pub to the National Trust when she died in 1977.
FASCINATING: The witch circles or marks at the Fleece Inn in Bretforton (Image: James Connell/Newsquest photos)
The pub is not only considered one of the best food destinations (faggots and pies in winter) in the county, it is also a bastion of English traditions including folk music, Morris Dancing and, of course, asparagus.
When the summer comes, expect popular choices such as traditional Ploughmans and ‘the legendary Fleece Inn burger’.
HISTORIC: The Rose and Crown in Severn Stoke has forged a reputation as one of Worcestershire’s top food destinations (Image: James Connell/Newsquest photos)
Rose and Crown, Severn Stoke
The Rose and Crown in Severn Stoke, near Worcester, was last year named as one of the best 100 pubs in Britain by top chefs and food critics including writer Tom Parker Bowles, restaurateur and television presenter Prue Leith and chef Michel Roux Junior.
Andy Goodall and Matt Collins of the Rose and Crown said: “We’re thrilled to announce that the Rose & Crown has been recognised by Tom Parker Bowles as one of the top 100 pubs in England.
“This honour highlights our dedication to excellence and the vibrant atmosphere we strive to create for our guests. Thank you for your continued support from our fantastic team and wonderful customers —come and celebrate with us.”
It is a listing which places the pub in exalted company amongst such puns as The Queen’s Arms, Kensington, the Audley Public House in Mayfair, the Sir Charles Napier in Chinnor and the Nelson Arms in Tonbridge.
Features which won praise included the ability to appeal to customers all year round, from ‘a pretty beer garden in summer, and a crackling fire and comfy chair in winter, while serving up local beers and hearty fare’.
EXCELLENT: Head chef Stuart Foreman (left) and manager Ed Burgoyne at the Dewdrop Inn in Broadheath, the heart of Elgar country (Image: James Connell/Newsquest photos)
Dewdrop Inn, Broadheath
The Dewdrop, which lies in the heart of Elgar country, is a symphony of sight, sound and taste which promises a premier fine dining experience in an idyllic spot.
At first glance, what impresses most about The Dewdrop Inn in Bell Lane, Lower Broadheath is the colossal amount of effort that has gone into crafting the interior – and it does not miss a single note.
Elgar was born just a stone’s throw from the pub and restaurant in Lower Broadheath and many on a pilgrimage to The Firs, his birthplace, continue to visit the Dewdrop.
It is for food which the family-run Dewdrop has forged its reputation and attracted a loyal customer following.
The pub has a 4.5 rating on Trip Advisor after 308 reviews and 4.7 rating on Google after 467 reviews, something staff say they have worked hard to achieve and maintain and are rightly proud of.
GREAT: Julie Taylor, landlady of The Fruiterers Arms in Uphampton between Worcester and Kidderminster (Image: James Connell/Newsquest photos)
The Fruiterers Arms in Uphampton
This great pub near Worcester is tucked away off a country lane and may be one of the Worcestershire countryside’s best-kept secrets.
If you’re coming from Worcester, take a left off the A449 after you pass the Ombersley junction. Quickly, much more quickly than you might expect, you seem to find yourself in a land that time forgot as if you have strayed through some rift in space and time into an idyllic vanished England.
Here it is still possible to imagine you have travelled back to a lost England where rural Worcestershire moved to a softer, more seasonal rhythm.
Landlady Julie Taylor, asked what she loves about the pub, said: “Everything – the people and the countryside – the tranquillity. A lot of people don’t know we’re here. It’s just the sign that gives us away.”
Many of the customers are local – farmers, anglers, shooters – although Robert Plant, former lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin, has been in a few times.
The pub sign – recently judged by CAMRA to be the best in Worcestershire – sets the tone at once for it features a distinguished figure who looks not unlike the county’s great composer, Sir Edward Elgar, staring out into the distance.
Step inside the lounge and you are in for an even greater surprise. Carriage lamps and horse brasses gleam beneath dark old beams. Swords, guns, bedpans and agricultural equipment from the past are mounted on the walls.
The pub does not serve hot food but pub snacks and real ales, the way many customers like their pubs – a ‘proper pub’ as some would call it.
RIVERSIDE: The Camp House Inn in Grimley (Image: James Connell/Newsquest photos)
Camp House Inn in Grimley
The Camp House Inn in Grimley, near Worcester surely occupies one of the most beautiful riverside spots in the county, if not the country. Few, if any, can rival it for the sublime quality of its countryside views. Look out the window to see the river (friend and foe) and don’t be surprised if you see a peacock looking right back at you.
Here the pub endures, weathering the onslaught of besieging storms as she has done since before the English Civil War, an enchanting survival from a bygone age.
At the moment it feels like a retreat or refuge of sorts, a kind of hideout where you could go to ground, batten down the hatches, ‘ride it out’ as it were.
Indeed, that is precisely what happened at the end of the Battle of Worcester on September 3, 1651 when defeated Royalists hid nearby in the reedbeds and later sought sanctuary at Retreat Farm, next door to the pub (which is how the farm is said to have earned its name).
The pub even boasts a ‘Cromwellian licence’. Cromwell set about investigating the quality of beer at all the inns in the country, sending out ‘beer tasters’ and those that passed the test received this special mark of quality.
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The Camp is close to Bevere Island where the inhabitants have sought refuge three times – from Danish Vikings, from the great plague in 1637 and after the Battle of Worcester in 1651.
MEMORABLE: The Three Kings in Hanley Castle is a beautiful English pub (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)
Three Kings Inn in Hanley Castle
There can be few more atmospheric pubs in England, let alone Worcestershire, than the Three Kings Inn. Church End, where the pub is situated, has to be one of the most memorable vistas in the county.
The Three Kings (the building itself anyway) has been standing for more than 500 years and has been in the care of the same family for over a century.
ATMOSPHERE: The Three Kings in Hanley Castle (Image: James Connell/Newsquest) It is known for a beer festival in November and for its strong support of local ales, folk musicians and Morris dancing.
The snug is a cosy, intimate bar with a small serving hatch. This room, famous for its ancient cruck beams, once formed the entirety of the pub before it expanded into the old cottage next door in the early 1980s.
A door to the larger, Nell’s Lounge, is at the other side of the building, named after the woman who once owned the cottage.
Owl and fox eyes watch you from inside glass cases and there are heirlooms and horse brasses which make this pub feel connected to the rich rural landscape around it.