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When you hit the Oxfordshire town of Woodstock, with its grand 18th century palace, smart boutiques, grand Georgian pubs and general air of somewhere you should never just drive straight through… keep going. Sounds counter-intuitive, sure, but a short drive further through this corner of the country between Oxford and the Cotswolds and over the River Glyme will land you in the postcard village of Wootton and, crucially, at The Killingworth Castle.
A pretty and beautifully located gastropub with fields stretching beyond it, ‘The Killy’ is a proper then-and-now story. It first opened in 1637 as a staging post for riders heading to and from London, and was cobwebbed and derelict when husband-and-wife team Jim and Claire Alexander took it over in 2012. The subsequent painstaking refurb has encompassed an extension for the smart but snug restaurant and the old stables being converted into eight elegant bedrooms. No one comes by horse anymore – and highwaymen are less of a problem – but the same principles remain: it’s a country getaway in reach of London and a couple of miles from all those Woodstock sights – Blenheim included, of course. You’ll be following Winston Churchill’s lead, because this part of the world’s most famous local used to putter over from the palace in his car for a pint or two back in the day.
What are the rooms like at The Killingworth Castle?
Rustic snugness and exposed stonework abound in the eight bedrooms located in the old stables across the neatly landscaped beer garden. They each have hand-crafted wooden beds and bedding that might as well come with its own sleep hex. In fact, the bed was so comfy, getting up was an effort. It’s dreamy to wake up to the chirp of skylarks and finches. My favourite detail was the roll-top bath directly beneath a skylight, to lie in and pretend you’re Neil deGrasse Tyson when the stars come out. The rooms have small TVs, rather than anything fancy and flatscreen.
What is the food like at The Killingworth Castle?
In a country swimming in foodie pubs, it’s tough to earn a spot among the UK’s 50 best gastropubs alongside the likes of Soho’s The French House and Somerset’s The Three Horseshoes. This is elite company. At The Killy they take their food the nice kind of seriously, i.e. with unpretentious precision and pride. Head chef Rob Mason, who cut his teeth in Jamie Oliver’s family’s pub The Cricketers, will tell you all about his passion for seasonal ingredients from the open kitchen hatch. The eight-course tasting menu is proof: melty Cotswolds lamb; treacle soda bread baked on site and insanely moreish; a light but sharply flavourful chicken liver parfait; meaty roasted monkfish on the bone. If the eight-course tasting menu (£95) is too rich for your blood, the à la carte menu offers three courses for £65. It’s London prices – or close to – but with the quality and care to justify the price tag.
The staff are warm and well-drilled, too, catering to a few dietary requirements with zero fuss. The service was a touch less assured at breakfast but the food just as immaculate. The full English, with more freshly-baked bread, was perfect fuel for another foray into the countryside.
What is the service like at The Killingworth Castle?
There are fancy-dan country pubs that seem to shun their locals to cater for bigger-spending tourists. The Killy strikes a nice balance for locals and visitors alike – the sort of place that comfortably accommodates exuberant pint drinkers cheering on the rugby in the cosy front bar and serious foodies sipping cab sav in the back. Rob Mason’s kitchen turns out sausage rolls for big games, and fires up the barbecue in the summer.
What’s the area like around The Killingworth Castle?
Once you’ve strolled through this hushed village and down to the River Glyme, it’s time to head back to Woodstock and take a tour of Blenheim and its legendary gardens (£29.50) – there’s often weekend concerts, food festivals and antiques fairs in the summer. Only the truly intrepid will want to walk the three miles each way. Access to Zipcar also unlocks nearby Cotswolds villages like Charlbury and, of course, Oxford itself (just don’t forget the temporary congestion charge).
DETAILS
Address: Glympton Road, Wootton, Oxfordshire, OX20 1EJ
Price per night: From £189 per night (breakfast included)
Closest transport link: Oxford Station (30 minutes taxi)