Traditional country inns may be ten-a-penny in the Cotswolds, but it’s rare to find one that, like The Bell Inn in Selsley, is a proper dog-friendly local that also serves award-winning gourmet food.

You’re as welcome to walk into The Bell Inn Selsley wearing wellies and enjoy a pint and a pickled egg with a four-legged friend in tow as you are to dress up and indulge in a three-course feast from a menu that exhibits the best of British produce.

Chef-proprietor Mark Payne is big on seasonal and local ingredients, including lamb from the neighbouring fields and veg from his own allotment and kitchen garden. The line-up is refreshingly simple, with an emphasis on quality ingredients cooked well. Dining options range from a lunch menu of pub classics, smaller bites and sandwiches on homemade sourdough, to a dinner menu with highlights that include homemade Ragstone goat’s cheese tortellini with walnut butter and pecorino, and loin of local veal with potato terrine, rosemary carrots and homemade black pudding.

Make sure you’re sporting an elasticated waistband to take full advantage of desserts such as own-grown-ginger-braised rhubarb with foraged-elderflower mousse and ginger breadcrumb.

Trencherman’s tip

The inn stocks 75 artisan gins – many distilled locally; book a room for the night and sample a few.