Traditional English Food and Drink

The Great West Way takes you on a tour of quintessential Englishness, accompanied by the traditional tastes of England. There are lots of traditional foods to sample and gastronomic customs to try as you travel.

Treat yourself to homemade cakes and a cuppa at a quaint cafe or tea shop. Fill up on a hearty Sunday roast at a friendly country pub or inn or a splendid afternoon tea at a luxurious hotel. Sample local produce at Cobbs Farm Shop in Hungerford. Tuck into a full English breakfast in the morning and taste real ales in the evening. Look out for local beers like Good Old Boy from West Berkshire Brewery for a pint of pure Englishness. Wadworth Brewery's 6X can be enjoyed at charming historic pubs like The George Inn in Norton St Philip and the Bird In Hand At Knowl Hill.

You can even sit down for a meal at The Refectory And Bar - in what is reputedly the oldest hotel in England!

Many traditional English foods and drinks are still produced here on the Great West Way to this day, reflecting production practices that go back hundreds of years. Beer is brewed and gin distilled. Crops are grown, cheeses are matured and pies are baked. Wherever you travel, there are local delicacies to sample – from London’s jellied eels at the far East of the Great West Way to the Bath Bun in the West, via Richmond’s Maids of Honour Tart, Wiltshire’s delicious cured meats and the magnificent meringues of the Eton Mess.