Situated in the heart of this engaging village, The Kings Arms offers impressive standards…
The Kings Arms
“Enjoyable food in elegantly converted country pub”
SHERBORNE, DORSET
Our View
Midway between Sherborne and Wincanton, The Kings Arms was first licensed in 1813. While it retains its original grand frontage, the owners, Sarah and Tony Lethbridge, have completely transformed the interior from cellar to loft into a chic country pub and modern restaurant with boutique-style bedrooms. First port of call for most, of course, is usually the bar, where Butcombe real ales, and Lawrence’s cider from nearby Corton Denham, all have their devotees. Of the 50 wines, 15 are sold by the glass. Stay in the bar if you’re looking for a light snack in relaxed surroundings, otherwise go through a light, airy atrium to the more formal self-contained, Georgian-mirrored dining room, where black and brown leather, high-backed chairs are set round chunky wooden tables. From here, doors open on to an extensive dining terrace overlooking the countryside. The cooking style, traditional and modern British with world influences where everything is made in-house, including breads, pastas and ice creams. The charcoal grill is kept busy with pork, rib-eye and venison steaks, although there are plenty of alternatives such as free-range Creedy Carver duck leg; pan-fried hake; and beetroot risotto on the menu. Children’s dishes include salmon fishcake with hand-cut chips, and tagliatelle with roasted tomato sauce.
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Discover Dorset
Dorset means rugged varied coastlines and high chalk downlands. Squeezed in among the cliffs and set amid some of Britain’s most beautiful scenery is a chain of picturesque villages and seaside towns. Along the coast you’ll find the Lulworth Ranges, which run from Kimmeridge Bay in the east to Lulworth Cove in the west. Together with a stretch of East Devon, this is Britain’s Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, noted for its layers of shale and numerous fossils embedded in the rock. Among the best-known natural landmarks on this stretch of the Dorset coast is Durdle Door, a rocky arch that has been shaped and sculpted to perfection by the elements. The whole area has the unmistakable stamp of prehistory.
Away from Dorset’s magical coastline lies a landscape with a very different character and atmosphere, but one that is no less appealing. Here, winding, hedge-lined country lanes lead beneath lush, green hilltops to snug, sleepy villages hidden from view and the wider world. The people of Dorset are justifiably proud of the achievements of Thomas Hardy, its most famous son, and much of the county is immortalised in his writing.
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