Set in a hilltop village beside the local cricket ground and operated by the same family for 200 years, The Bell is your archetypal ‘unspoilt’ pub. Squat corridors and jutting beams emblazoned with
sports memorabilia and beer mats are a museum to the locality, while drinks are dispensed from a glass-fronted hatch. Immaculate ales produced by regional names such as Arkell’s and the West
Berkshire Brewery are the quaffs of choice, and lager is conspicuous by its absence. Don’t ask for chips – punters have been barred for less; instead, plump for ploughman’s and rolls filled with
salt beef, crab or local cheeses, followed by a steamed pudding with custard. Despite a dreamily picturesque garden, the Bell’s antiquity has its downsides: the toilets are yet to make it indoors
and a lack of anything vaguely electronic may leave city boys feeling short-changed.