The Swan Inn
A wisteria-clad inn beside the River Windrush at Swinbrook, worth planning a whole afternoon around.
A wisteria-clad inn beside the River Windrush at Swinbrook, worth planning a whole afternoon around.
The Swan sits in the tiny village of Swinbrook, a couple of miles east of Burford on a quiet lane that runs down toward the church and the water meadows. It is a honey-stone inn dating back several centuries, with flagstone floors, low oak beams and log fires in the cooler months, and the River Windrush drifting past just beyond the garden. The pub has long been part of the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire's estate, the Duchess being Deborah, the youngest of the Mitford sisters who grew up in the parish. The connection is woven quietly through the rooms in old photographs and family memorabilia rather than made a fuss of, and it sits comfortably alongside the everyday business of pulling pints and feeding people well.
We send guests here more than almost anywhere else, and rarely hear anything but praise back. The cooking has earned two AA Rosettes, which tells you something about the level of care in the kitchen, but the room itself never feels formal. You can just as happily settle in for a proper three-course dinner as drop by for a pint and a plate of something simple by the fire. On a warm afternoon the garden tables overlooking the Windrush are hard to beat; on a cold one, the fire inside and a glass of something red do the job just as well. It is the sort of place that rewards not rushing, and most of our guests find an hour turns into two without much protest.
The menu changes with the seasons and leans on local, well-sourced produce: good meat, fish that arrives fresh, and puddings worth saving room for. Sunday lunch is a particular draw, so plan around it if you can. Three handpumps keep cask ale flowing, and the wine list is thoughtful without being showy. A few pointers if you are planning a visit:
If a long lunch turns into a longer afternoon, The Swan also has a handful of bedrooms in the Stables and the neighbouring Riverside Cottage, so it can make a gentle overnight escape as well as a meal out. Either way, it pairs beautifully with a wander. The footpath along the Windrush links Swinbrook with Asthall and Burford, and the walk back up to the church, where several of the Mitford sisters are buried, is a lovely way to earn a pudding. Bring boots if the ground has been wet; the meadows can be soft underfoot.
Swinbrook is a little under half an hour's drive from Well Cottage, roughly seventeen miles through classic Cotswold lanes by way of the country roads west of Chipping Norton. It is an easy run for lunch or dinner, and comfortably combined with a morning in Burford, one of the prettiest of the wool towns, just up the hill. Of all the places to eat within striking distance of the cottage, this is the one we would point you to first.
“If you only eat out once during your stay, make it The Swan. Sit in the garden if you can, order slowly, and let the afternoon take care of itself.”
All of this on the doorstep, and your own thatched cottage to come home to. Sleeps seven, less than a mile from Soho Farmhouse.