The Wild Rabbit
A polished 18th-century inn on the Daylesford estate, dining, drinking and sleeping with a hyper-local, seasonal menu in one of the Cotswolds' prettiest villages.
A polished 18th-century inn on the Daylesford estate, dining, drinking and sleeping with a hyper-local, seasonal menu in one of the Cotswolds' prettiest villages.
The Wild Rabbit sits in the picture-book village of Kingham, an eighteenth-century building reimagined as a relaxed modern inn for dining, drinking and an overnight stay. It belongs to the Daylesford estate, one of the UK's most sustainable organic farms, so the kitchen leans hard on hyper-local, seasonal produce served in warm, unfussy surroundings that have earned it a place in the Michelin Guide. Beyond the celebrated restaurant there is a welcoming bar and terrace and a dozen bedrooms, each named after a creature of the English countryside. Roughly 25 minutes from Well Cottage, it makes an easy and memorable evening out, ideally paired with a daytime wander around the neighbouring Daylesford farmshop.
The Wild Rabbit's kitchen takes its cues from the Daylesford estate across the valley: vegetables pulled that morning, rare-breed meat from the farm's own herds, herbs from the kitchen garden. The menu changes constantly — that's the point of it, and there's no predicting what you'll find. The bar is equally well-considered: Daylesford ales on tap, a thoughtful wine list with plenty by the glass, and soft drinks made in-house. Arrive early enough to settle into one of the deep armchairs beside the inglenook fireplace before your table is called. The Michelin Guide noticed. The regulars already knew.
Kingham is around 20 minutes from Well Cottage by car, heading south through the Evenlode valley. Book ahead, especially for weekend lunch. If you'd rather not drive, Kingham station sits a short walk from the village and runs direct services to London Paddington in roughly 90 minutes, which makes a long lunch here a perfectly reasonable reason to invite friends up from town. While you're in the area, The Kingham Plough is a short stroll away and a good fallback if the Rabbit is fully booked. We usually do Daylesford in the morning and the Wild Rabbit for lunch — the two sit on the same estate, and the kitchen uses much of what you'll have just been looking at in the farm shop.
All of this on the doorstep, and your own thatched cottage to come home to. Sleeps seven, less than a mile from Soho Farmhouse.