Never play pub cricket in the Cotswolds. I have never been past so many legless pubs in my life. And for some reason, many of them are called The Bell, or the Blue Bell, or similar, so this pub loses an immediate half a star just for inconsiderate naming. In three days’ driving, we amassed about 16 runs between us, and I think one of those was for the Fox and Hounds.

I have never really explored this part of the world, but it has dimly entered my consciousness due to Jeremy Clarkson, who has done so much to promote British farming, and from the enormous “clunks” coming from my suspension, to tear up the local roads with his Lambo tractor. I’ve never seen potholes quite like it: I half expected lava to erupt from a few, so deep were they. However, lured by the very generous “One More Sleep” offer from Young’s, and armed with a consolation voucher for the terrible service at the Fox and Anchor, we decided to fulfil the booking we had made in December, even though storm clouds loomed large over much of England, and especially this little slice of paradise…

The Bell is not a huge pub, and many of the rooms are about 5 minutes up the road in Saxon House, which suited us with ample parking and no breakfast booked, but I think if you have a breakfast inclusive rate, staying in the pub itself is a much better idea. We did book for dinner the first night, which was less of a faff, but you can’t really wander through Stow in your slippers, at least not without running the risk of being sectioned.

Staff were super friendly, and I want to make that front and centre in this review. We have always had really good experiences at Young’s pubs, and the recent London experience seemed to be an exception at the time, and I’m pleased to say it looks like it was.

The Room

We were initially very happy with the room (although anyone who knows me will know that putting me in a room called “Dog” was having a laugh – Fortunately, if one had been there, the place had been very well cleaned…).

The bed was a superking, as advertised. It would have been great to have a bath somewhere (either in the room, or as part of the shower arrangement, but they are now the exception. Mrs Nigel is a water baby, and it’s a big part of her holiday experience, especially if we have been on one of our more epic walks.

My only real criticisms are a real lack of shelf space (especially in the bathroom), limited hanging space, and not a single drawer. We ended up with clothes on the windowsill, just to have them unpacked. Also, the minibar is too pricey to make you think of having a spontaneous drink, and the selection is a little off-putting. I suspect one of the most popular things that couples travelling like to open is half a bottle of sparkling wine. The offering here was Nytimber (which I do like), but for £35. In a room that is £160 a night (or £80 if you are on a deal), that is not an impulse purchase, especially when there are plenty of local shops who are willing to offer cheap fizzy wine at a fraction of the cost. Maybe a lot of people have lottery wins staying in Young’s pubs, and have an urgent need to celebrate expensively?

Two other irritants became clear in the night…

A glass bathroom door does very little to block light, which may be fine during the day, but less so if your companion needs a light to avoid killing themselves in an unfamilar bathroom (which did once almost happen) – Some hotels have small, motion and light activated lighting at floor level, and this would have done the trick.

Worse, however, was the family of elephants who took up residence upstairs (having clearly checked in late), and who had occasional dance parties over the course of our stay. Hard to know what soundproofing there is between the floors, but there is little enough that a light breeze upstairs sounds like a hurricane downstairs.

Overall, though, a great room and good value, especially if you own both sleep mask and earplugs.

Dinner at the Bell

As I said above, we had decided to eat in the pub on the first night, which was a little ironic as it is the furthest restaurant out of town, and even Noah would have struggled to get through town that night.

Service, again, was really excellent. There was a new member of staff being trained, and she was being very carefully monitored (again, night and day compared to the Fox and Anchor).

There is a set menu, but it is a little quirky – It would be far better if Young’s charged an extra fiver, and put full sized dishes on. However, even the a la carte is not bad value.

We went for the Beetroot to start along with Fennel Salami. Both well executed. For main, the Fish and Chips at Young’s pubs are generally pretty good, and we both had that. I felt the Haddock as a little overdone, and the chips a little underdone, but Mrs Nigel was having none of this. A nice bottle of Gavi washed it down, making for a satisfying, good value meal. It will not make the Michelin Guide (and as we will find out next week in our next thrilling installment of 2 Get Drowned in Stow, not everywhere should), but that is not why you eat in a place like this, so top marks. And again, the staff were all lovely (in stark contrast to The Sheep, where we had a drink the following night, where they are arseholes).

And if you are looking for a nice lunch in Stow, try The Hive, where we had some excellent sandwiches…

It is at the outer reaches of the Young’s network, but if you are looking to spend some time in Stratford, or doing the Clarkson Trail from farm to pub to brewery, it’s a great place to stay. We would have loved to have done some walking (more than from the car to the door of the hotel), but rain, fog and a plague of frogs made that very hard!

Conclusion

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

• Accommodation: 4.5/5
• Service: 5/5
• Food: 4.5/5
• Drinks: 4.5/5
• Value for Money: 5/5
• Would we come back: After checking the weather, yes

The Bell at Stow: https://www.thebellatstow.com/