Devonshire Arms

Contemporary twist to lovely old interior; local beers, good wine list, interesting carefully sourced food, attractive comfortable bedrooms

In a lovely setting in an attractive village in the Peak District, this handsome stone-built village inn was converted from cottages back in 1741 and is on the fringes of the great Chatsworth estate - you can walk to Chatsworth House itself. Contemporary colours nicely set off attractive traditional features: between black beams, flagstones, stripped stone, traditional settles and cheerful log fires you will find light brightly coloured modern furnishings, prints and floral arrangements. Despite the accent on dining, drinkers are made to feel welcome: six changing real ales will most likely include Peak Ales Chatsworth Gold, Theaksons Old Peculier and Whim Hartington and Thornbridge Jaipur, and they've several wines by the glass from a well chosen list and a good range of malt whiskies, as well as local mineral water. Good modish new bedrooms are comfortable.

All dishes are cooked to order (so there might be a wait at busy times), and the short but very well balanced changing menu might include starters of crispy king scallop or home-cured jellied ham, with main courses like local pigeon, free-range chicken curry, home-cured belly pork, or roasted brie, mushroom and leek tart. Straightforward snacks and bar food like soup, sandwiches, olives, local bangers, fish and chips, local sausage and mash, and very generous ploughman's are also available, as is afternoon tea (3-6pm). For those staying overnight, there's an extensive breakfast buffet, as well as a full-works breakfast with local produce.