Perfect for an Autumn or Winter Break
Situated at the centre of a very picturesque and ancient East Wiltshire village surrounded by rolling chalk downland, The Bell at Ramsbury, is a thriving, 300-year old freehouse with restaurant, café and 10 rooms.
Offering rustic vibes and country chic style, The Bell is owned by the surrounding 19,000 acre Ramsbury Estate which supplies The Bell with beer, gin and vodka made at its own award-winning Brewery and Distillery and the Estate’s Black Gold extra virgin cold pressed rapeseed oil from its own Oil Press. Daily deliveries of freshly picked, seasonal fruit, veg, herbs and flowers come from the estate’s Priory Farm kitchen garden, located two miles from The Bell, plus air dried aged beef from the estate’s herd of South Devon and Aberdeen Angus cattle, water meadow lamb and seasonally available game from the estate’s sustainably managed woodland. Fresh fish deliveries arrive daily from Cornwall.
Heading up the Bell’s kitchen, multi-award-winning chef, James Graham. Dedicated to championing the abundant, homegrown and seasonally relevant estate produce on his daily changing à la carte, farm to fork menus with innovative twists, together with elevated pub classics served at lunch and dinner, everything on James’ menus is made in-house, including James own charcuterie.
Meals are served in the bar and two adjoining light and airy dining spaces warmed by wood-burning stoves or open fires, in its own Café Bella or outside on its terrace or the lawned beer garden.
Tastefully decorated throughout with real flair, expect stylish interiors in soft creams with exposed beams, solid oak floors and beautiful leadlight windows. Banquettes upholstered in tartan tweed and kid leather and oak dining chairs complement the antique furnishings, landscape prints and photographs of the Estate, along with well-appointed lighting.
Adjacent to the pub’s dining rooms, is the quaint and sun-filled, Café Bella. Popular with locals, it offers counter dining overlooking the open kitchen and a relaxed vibe. Seating up to 24, it serves the restaurant a la carte menu + breakfast from 8.30am, light snacks, tea, coffee and homemade cakes. French doors lead to a decked terrace to one side of the pub and another set opens to a sunny patio with steps up to a lawned and landscaped beer garden. *Café Bella is also available for private dining and events.
Behind the Bar, Ramsbury Estate Distillery’s own multi-award winning single estate grain vodka, recently awarded ‘Vodka of the Year’ at the 2024 London Spirits Competition, and its fresh and floral Single Estate Gin, both made using the Estate’s own single field Horatio baker’s wheat and chalk-filtered spring water from its own source.
Ramsbury Gin is flavoured with nine botanicals grown on the estate, including quince. Attached to the distillery is the much loved Ramsbury Brewery. The Bell offers all four of the Brewery’s handcrafted, grain to glass beers on tap using barley also grown on the Ramsbury estate and own-source, chalk-filtered water, including its best seller, Ramsbury Gold.
Also on offer, a further eleven quality gins, a seasonal cocktail list and homemade bitters created by the bar team, along with a carefully curated wine list offering reasonably priced classics and more unusual wines from Austria, Hungary and Lebanon, available by the glass or bottle. The Bell also offers its ‘Special Wine List’ featuring a fabulous range of prestigious Old and New World wines.
Dogs are welcome in the bar, Café Bella and the garden – treats and water bowls available in the bar area.
The Bell’s 10 comfortable, spacious guest rooms include six above the pub and another four in a converted coach house opposite. All en-suite, with views over the village and furnished with luxurious Hypnos beds, upholstered headboards, hypo-allergenic duvets and pillows and crisp white linens, each is individually decorated in a simple pared-back style with a calming colour scheme enhanced with locally sourced antiques, comfy armchairs, prints and photographs. Original architectural details highlight the history and character of the building.
Choose from four Super Kingside beds, two deluxe doubles, two standard doubles and two twin bedrooms, with one interconnecting for families. Seven rooms feature walk-in rain showers and three come with showers over the bath and locally made Elm & Grey toiletries. Breakfast includes a continental buffet of homemade granola, yogurt, fresh fruits, breads, jams and fresh pastries, and cooked breakfast options.
Rooms range from £110 per night on a B&B basis for two people year-round. Children of all ages are very welcome, and camp beds (£50 a night per child) and free travel cots can be set-up in most rooms. Dogs are welcome in the four coach house bedrooms at no extra charge. All rooms have tea and coffee-making facilities, free WIFI, fresh milk and homemade biscuits.
To do and see in the area
The Ramsbury Estate Distillery and Brewery lie just three miles from The Bell, and offer regular tours, beer, gin and vodka tastings and a Bespoke Gin School Experience with a 3.5hr ‘Make Your Own Gin’ masterclass.
The Ramsbury Experience – an off-road, countryside safari tour of the Ramsbury Estate promises some of the most spectacular views across the North Wessex Downs, together with a brewery and distillery tour on the last Friday of the month from April to September. https://ramsburyestates.co.uk/experiences/ramsbury-experience-tour/
Foraging Tours – Join local Wiltshire wild picker, Marc Pardey, for a guided tour of the Ramsbury estate. Foraging for wild food under Marc’s guidance, you’ll be introduced to a wide range of seasonal edibles and learn how to safely identify them in the future. The day will start at 9am with coffee and pastries at The Bell, followed by three hours of foraging on the Estate before returning to The Bell for a multi-course tasting lunch.
Great walks from the front door. Ask for one of the handy maps of circular walks. Take an easy 30-minute stroll through Ramsbury with streets lined with beautifully preserved, half-timbered, thatched, Georgian and Victorian houses and alongside the banks of the river Kennet, or alternatively set out for a more strenuous hike up to and along the Ridgeway. Described as Britain’s oldest road, it extends 87 miles from Avebury in Wiltshire along the chalk ridge of the Berkshire Downs past the River Thames and into the Chilterns at Ivinghoe Beacon and Ashridge. Dotted with archaeological monuments, including Stone Age long barrows, Bronze Age round barrows and Iron Age forts, a nearby section of the Ridgeway is located on the edge of the village of Aldbourne, three miles from Ramsbury.
Walking trail info here. https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/short-routes/aldbourne-circular-route/
Walk from Ramsbury to Littlecote Roman Villa – the best preserved Roman mosaic in the UK https://www.visitpewseyvale.co.uk/business-directory/littlecote-roman-villa-mosaic/
Nearby National Trust attractions;
White Horse Hill, Uffington https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-berkshire/white-horse-hill
Lacock Country House https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wiltshire/lacock?origin=search
Bell picnic lunches can be prepared to take with you if ordered the night before.
Sightseeing and shopping in nearby Marlborough, five miles away, Hungerford four miles and Swindon is 12 miles away.
The Bell at Ramsbury, The Square, Ramsbury, Near Marlborough, Wiltshire
SN8 2PE. Tel 01672 520230,
email; thebell@ramsbury.com
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