I first stumbled upon The Bear Inn via Instagram, where I was instantly attracted to its cosy yet colourful country-house interiors, designed coincidentally by one of my favourite designers, Octavia Dickinson. I like to stay in places that feel like a home from home, where you can kick off your shoes and curl up your feet on an armchair with a good book, beside a roaring fire. Where each room is filled with personality and is completely unique, encouraging you to book a return stay to admire more of the interiors. A place where the beds are huge and comfortable, but there’s also interesting details to peruse, such as antique oil paintings, clashing patterned textiles and tangerine leather room keys. The Bear Inn ticks all these boxes, plus its food offering is both delicious and memorable. After just 24 hours cosied up in its Yew room, its made its way onto my list of beloved British boltholes that I’ve definitely be returning to.

A little bit of history: The Bear first opened as a coaching inn in the 16th century, the many tunnels beneath the church once hid rebellious monks, the pub is haunted by the ghost of a Scandinavian timber merchant, and (perhaps most shockingly) in the 1970s there was an actual bear pit with two grizzlies, who were eventually rehomed to Newquay Zoo. It’s a proper old pub, with exposed beams and wonky walls, yet the contemporary pops of colour and pattern in the bedrooms fit in effortlessly.

There are 12 bedrooms to choose from, including two dog friendly rooms (Sycamore and Birch) and three suites (Juniper, Rowan and Ash). I stayed in Yew, which is one of their more expensive rooms, but it was my favourite in terms of the decor. I’m always attracted to warm-hued walls, and I loved the little nook by the window with a comfy armchair for curling up in. Next time I would opt for Juniper, with its foliage-printed wallpaper, roll-top bath tub and separate sitting room with rich red walls.

We only stayed for one night — just a brisk 24 hours away — but opted for an early check-in to make the most of our stay. I would’ve liked to have had a wander around nearby Hodnet Hall Gardens, but they were closed for the winter, so we settled down in comfy armchairs beside the fire and spent the afternoon reading our books and sipping drinks. It was one of those blissfully relaxing stays where we didn’t really do anything other than enjoying being away from home for the night, eating a delicious dinner, and soaking up our surroundings. We did manage to visit a couple of great antique shops (Whitchurch Antiques Emporium the afternoon we arrived and Dagfields Craft & Antiques on the way home). If you’re a fellow antiques lover plotting a stay at The Bear Inn, definitely add both of these to your agenda. While Dagfields is huge (a seemingly never ending maze of antique warehouses), I had more success digging through the Emporium in Whitchurch, where I purchased a couple of treasures.