Hook Norton

Hook Norton

Hook Norton is one of those villages that earns its reputation quietly. The houses are built from the local honey-coloured ironstone, the lanes wind past cottage gardens and old farmyards, and the surrounding countryside rolls away in every direction with a gentle openness that rewards a long walk. But the thing that puts Hooky on the map is the brewery. Hook Norton Brewery has been family-run since 1849, and its Victorian tower building is one of the last of its kind still operating in Britain. You can take a tour to see the traditional process in action, visit the small museum and shop, and taste the ales that locals have been drinking for generations. The flagship Hooky bitter and Old Hooky turn up in pubs right across the region, and there is something satisfying about trying them at source.

The village itself has a proper community feel. The Pear Tree Inn and The Sun Inn are both good, honest pubs where the beer is well kept and the welcome is genuine. The annual beer festival and bonfire night are occasions that draw people from miles around, and the kind of events that remind you village life in this part of England is not just a postcard. Beyond the brewery, the landscape around Hook Norton has its own quiet drama: the old railway viaduct, long disused but still standing, appears through the trees as you walk the lanes and footpaths to the south of the village. It is a handsome piece of Victorian engineering, and a good excuse to lace up walking boots and explore the paths that thread through the rolling fields and hedgerows.