Pull up in the National Trust car park a little further up the road and squeeze in a three-mile round trip to see the stunning Newtown Estuary, with its dramatic marshes and swarms of rare birds. After that, you should have worked up enough appetite to tackle more than a generous starter of goats’ cheese tartlet with tomato and thyme chutney or garlicky mushrooms mopped up with crusty bread – especially when generously portioned mains such as fillet of hake with artichokes, lemon and thyme or slow-roast pork belly with caramelised onions are chalked up invitingly on the blackboard. This historic coaching inn stands beside the main road between Newport and Yarmouth in a pretty thatched village, and comes with a full quota of inglenook fireplaces, flagstone floors and low beams, in addition to its real ales and serviceable wine list.