The Duncombe Arms exhibits just how significantly The Wonderful British Pub has travelled.
Connoisseur pub classics have brought a Michelin Bib Gourmand, two AA rosettes and foodies from afar. This is no for a longer time just a location the place only locals fall by for a pint and a bite.
Ten rooms in Walnut Household, each one particular, with image window sights throughout the Dove Valley, have the look of a photo-shoot for an inside structure journal. Laura Greenall’s style and design has elevated The Duncombe Arms way past “The Pub with Rooms” categorisation.
Just a decade back, The Duncombe Arms, a village pub initially opened in the 1850s, was derelict and boarded. Neighborhood few, Johnny and Laura Greenall, decided to mount a rescue operation. Rejuvenated, restored and revived the Duncombe Arms opened its doors in 2012.
The welcome
Park by one particular of the free two charging points if you have travelled by electric motor vehicle. 1 of the welcoming serving personnel, neatly dressed in navy apron, adorned by the Duncombe relatives crest, and white blouse, will greet you.
We had been fifty percent-an-hour early and served tea in a back garden that overlooks the light inexperienced valley of Dovedale and it’s bleating sheep.
The space
Walnut House, adjacent but quietly detached from the pub by the walnut tree that provides its identify, has a short while ago been created in the region-chic style of a grand barn extension. 10 area names expose themes and the color of the decor, this kind of as Ashbourne blue, hops, recreation birds and peony. Each and every place is a lesson in daring but tasteful inside design.
Green, our area, is a restful cocoon of a palette of greens: an emerald green geometric sample on the designer wallpaper, hunter eco-friendly tweedy textured curtains, a light pistachio green border on the oatmeal rug and eco-friendly-themed artwork hung on the walls. These are colours that normally circulation by the Juliet balcony into Dovedale.
Temporarily, the selection of green cushions that resided on prime of the high-class Egyptian thread bed linen, have been taken off as a precaution versus Covid – 19.
Air conditioning, a coffee-maker and a massive wall-mounted television add the modern-day luxuries.
The tub space
An clever floor-degree spotlight welcomes you to a spacious toilet embellished with Fired Earth tiles.
A deep bathtub and a shower are mixed. Bamford toiletries with the aroma of geranium, lavender and peppermint are supplied.
Amenities
Chef Jake Boyce’s food, which inspired the award of the Michelin Bib Gourmand, draws diners from the village and over and above.
Boyce is continuously in touch with his suppliers as he devises and develops his menus. A rarely observed Golden Beetroot, from a little Ashbourne grower, introducing a mellow flavour to a starter of torched mackerel, epitomises the treatment above components.
Looking forward to the autumn menu, a meat provider has been instructed to rub primary beef with Himalyan salt and then hang for 36 times. Crabs from Cornwall are on order and soon grouse will be showing up on the menu also.
Boyce’s dozen years of encounter in London and as a expert in Australia persuade him to take the pub classics beloved by Duncombe’s clientele – a beef burger, haddock, a veal chop and corn-feed chicken – and establish them even more. So the veal chop is seasoned with black pepper, garlic and thyme. The torched mackerel rests on a bed of samphire with sea rosemary and oyster leaf.
Place
Staffordshire is an underrated county which gives a base for more exploration. For collectors there are the antique shops of Ashbourne whilst at the coronary heart of the Derbyshire Dales sits the well known Bakewell Pudding Store. More to the east lies stately Chatsworth House.
From the gate in The Duncombe Arms’ car-park attendees can stroll as a result of the fields to the River Dove. For critical walkers, Ellastone is just six miles south of The Peak District Nationwide Park.
Many households use The Duncombe Arms to recharge for days at close by Alton Towers, also it is just a limited push to the steam trains of the Churnet Valley Railway.
A little further absent is the National Arboretum at Alrewas with its 150 acres, 25,000 trees and 330 memorials.
Other pleasant touches
Company are provided a map of the grounds of Wootton Hall’s Woodland Gardens. At the moment it is the house of Johnny and Laura Greenall but again in the 1760s the previous corridor was lived in by Jean Jacques Rousseau. As nicely as getting a philosopher he was a eager botanist and established the backyard. By 1860 there were being 15 gardeners at work on the grounds.
Two generations on there is an air of The Lost Gardens of Heligan to the place. Johnny Greenall, an enthusiastic dendrologist, normally takes wonderful pride in the exceptional trees. At present his white-flowering Eucryphia, typically identified in the Southern Hemisphere, is his “tree of the moment”.
Walnut House is an art gallery also. Several years ago, Laura shared a London flat with Robin Light who went on to perform for the Kalman Crane Gallery. With additional art than he can exhibit on the London partitions, Gentle provides parts for Walnut House. If a piece normally takes your extravagant, Laura will place you in touch with him.
The price tag
Rooms get started at £170, like breakfast. In the cafe starters are in the £6 – £9 assortment with most important foods about the £14 to £28 mark.
The best bit
“It’s an extension of our residence,” states Laura Greenall who has brought over black-and-white racing images, some of her loved ones, Johnny was a leap jockey, to screen earlier mentioned the fire-sites. Then there are bold farmyard portraits of cows, sheep and pigs that characteristic on the exposed brickwork.
As Johnny Greenall learnt his trade in the loved ones brewery, a company signal-author commemorated his 21st birthday with a sizeable chunk of timber which is now exhibited in a person of the warren of dining rooms.
One more legacy of that brewery training is a variety of over 100 wines, quite a few available by the glass, and Duncombe’s pretty personal ale also.
The remaining verdict
Occur for the foods but continue to be days for the uber-attractive rooms that invite attendees to make the most of Staffordshire’s a lot of charms.
Return home to prepare dinner in your possess kitchen area enthused by Jake Boyce’s inspirational techniques with pub classics. Also head property to rejuvenate your individual household with suggestions from Laura’s refined decoration of Walnut Home.
Disclosure: Our remain was sponsored by The Duncombe Arms.