The Cromwell Arms

Bovey Tracey's old coaching inn takes its name from Oliver Cromwell, whose troops camped nearby during the Civil War and whose presence in the town stuck. It has been expanded and refurbished more than once since, most recently under new owners working with St Austell Brewery. What hasn't changed is the position: the heart of the town, five minutes off the A38, right on the edge of Dartmoor at the Gateway to the Moor.

There is a cosy country bar with a wide selection of drinks, a lawned beer garden for when the weather cooperates, and food aimed squarely at hungry walkers, families and friends. Fourteen en-suite bedrooms, all newly decorated, make it a base rather than just a stop, with the moors, tors and villages within easy reach and the Devon coast not much further. Worth booking a room if you plan on walking properly.