The Acorn Inn

Immortalised in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles (set in the fictional village of Evershead), this 16th-century coaching inn does more than simply capitalise on its literary connections. While predominantly a hotel and restaurant, there is an atmospheric room of stone-clad walls and timbered ceilings at the back offering the atmosphere and informality of a proper pub. A blackboard maps out the kitchen’s suppliers dotted around Dorset, and we recommend making a beeline for the stacked and juicy burger where the philosophy seems to be ‘more is more’. We found the team to be consummate professionals and friendly to boot.