I am walking along the tow path of the Basingstoke Canal in Odiham, wrapped in a comfort blanket of dappled sunlight, abundant nature and perfect peace and quiet, and thinking how happily I could live here. As selling up and moving is not a practical option, Odiham really is the perfect weekend escape. From London it’s easy to get to via the M3 or by train to Fleet (15 minutes by taxi) but at the same time feels as if you’re in a completely different world.

Situated in north Hampshire (the area regularly appears in ‘Top Five Places To Live in Britain’ lists), perched on the borders of Surrey and Berkshire, this is an area of rich green countryside marbled with small towns and pretty villages. Discreetly well-to-do but down to earth, this part of the county can certainly boast a few celebrity residents, but there’s nothing flashy about its quintessentially English rural charm. Odiham itself could come straight from the pages of an updated Agatha Christie novel. The high street is the heart of the town, bordered on each side by beautiful historic houses, and with good choices of places to eat and drink, ranging from gastropubs to local bistros and coffee shops, with a clutch of independent shops, including No 75 Antiques, a browser’s paradise and treasure trove of vintage and antique finds of all kinds.

We’re staying at The Red Lion, a historic pub with seven guest rooms in the heart of the high street. It’s a warm and welcoming place, and acts as a local hub, with regulars wandering in all day, from breakfast and coffee to dinner and drinks in the evening. Visitors are made to feel equally welcome and blend into the community vibe seamlessly. The pub is part of a small chain owned by three friends who bonded over their love of classic British pubs at their best, and set out to create proper community spaces that bring people together over good food and drink in a home-from- home atmosphere. Alongside delicious food and wine, they put a massive effort into the people factor: the team at The Red Lion look as if they genuinely enjoy their jobs and make good-humoured helpfulness and friendliness look easy and natural.

The pub has been part of Odiham for more than 500 years and is a true classic – a venerable old building with wooden beams and a simple, rustic charm. Located downstairs is a large comfortable bar and dining area, decorated with vintage aviation posters and artefacts (there is an RAF base nearby). Upstairs there are seven comfortable, stylish bedrooms, all fitted with discreet luxe touches and careful attention to detail. Alongside the country chic styling are gleaming power showers, ESPA toiletries, tea and coffee makers and – my personal favourite – an in-room mini bar where, to our surprise and delight, the contents are the same price as in the pub downstairs. The pub is also dog-friendly, and includes two adjoining rooms – perfect for families or large groups.

We arrived early in the afternoon, and after some helpful advice from The Red Lion team, we took ourselves out for a gentle walk along the nearby canal. We made our way to the highly recommended Newlyns Farm Shop, a large and well-stocked space full of high-end and local produce, including a butcher, fishmonger, cheese room, fresh produce section and deli. There is also a café and a cookery school that runs courses and classes throughout the year.

Back at The Red Lion we lingered over our pre-dinner drinks of excellent English sparkling wine, along with a generous jar of juicy marinated olives with rosemary and sun-dried tomatoes, before heading to our table for dinner. The menu is focused on quality local ingredients, generous portions and wellexecuted pub classics, including firm favourites such as prawn cocktail, steak and chips or traditional herb and pork sausages with buttery mash and red wine gravy. It’s great to know that there’s always a fresh fish dish on the menu, and vegetarians are well catered for, too, with quiches and salads, a veggie pie of the day or a gorgeous-looking veggie burger available. To start, I opted for the soup of the day, a super-fresh tomato and basil dish that was served with griddled sourdough bread, while my husband, David, chose the Atlantic prawn cocktail, which he pronounced ‘delicious’. We both had the pan-fried sea bass to follow, which was served with roasted new potatoes, broccoli and sauce vierge, a tasty mixture ofsimple but delicious flavours and textures, with moist, perfectly cooked fish.

Next morning, we took a tour of the local Penn Croft Vineyard. The vineyard is just five years old and already part of the burgeoning English wine scene. It began life as the vision of a local farmer, Simon Porter, a 20-year veteran of sustainable agriculture, and Malcolm Walker, a filmmaker who specialises in making films about winemakers. They planted their first vines in 2019, and debuted their first wine in 2021 – a bronze medal winner in that year’s WineGB Awards – and now have seven wines in production.

Our guide Issy’s passion for sustainable viniculture was fascinating and infectious, and finished on a high at the winery’s restaurant where we enjoyed generous cheese and charcuterie boards alongside tasting glasses of their wines. It was a great way to spend a morning, and comes highly recommended. The rest of our time in Odiham was spent exploring the local area, which is outstanding for nature lovers and walkers. There are clearly marked footpaths and cycle routes everywhere, or you could try a boat trip along the canal or a visit to the nearby Ancells Farm Nature Reserve. There are also plenty of National Trust properties in the area, including the lovely West Green House Garden, a magical walled garden worth visiting in its own right, and where there are also lots of events, including art classes, car shows and concerts. We left feeling totally relaxed and recharged, but even better, as if we’ve found a place we want to come back to again and again.