Shipton-under-Wychwood sits in the Evenlode valley, quiet and unhurried, and The Lamb is right on the green. It's the kind of pub where you walk in a stranger and leave feeling like a regular. Good beer, country cooking, a garden that catches the evening light.
There are plenty of pubs in the Cotswolds that have been polished into something they never quite were. The Lamb hasn't. It's a proper village local that happens to do things well: a short menu of honest, seasonal food; cask ales kept in good condition; a fire in winter and a sprawling beer garden come summer. The building itself is old stone, low ceilings, the kind of place that settles around you. On a warm evening, half the village seems to drift onto the green with a pint.
Shipton is a lovely drive from Ledwell, down through the Evenlode valley past Ascott-under-Wychwood. It's between Burford and Chipping Norton, so you can fold it into a day exploring either town. They also have rooms upstairs if you're bringing friends who can't quite squeeze into the cottage. We find ourselves here on quieter evenings when we want something relaxed and unfussy, a place where the food is generous and nobody's in a hurry.
“The Lamb is our go-to when we want a proper pub evening. No frills, just a good pint and a generous plate of food on the village green.”
All of this on the doorstep, and your own thatched cottage to come home to. Sleeps seven, less than a mile from Soho Farmhouse.