Recently we spent the most glorious Sunday discovering a gem of a place just a mere 10 minutes up the road from Wells. Isn’t it funny how these places can go undiscovered while you spend weekend after weekend venturing out to the same handful of places. Anyway, situated just a stone’s throw from the village of Chewton Mendip is the beautiful Litton, where the pub in question – The Litton – gets its name. The Litton is one of those pubs that has it all: a delicious menu, a wide selection of drinks, great ambience and an area to suit everyone. From the sunny and spacious landscape gardens (with an abundance of seating and plenty of room for children to run around and play – they’ve even supplied a giant Connect4), to the sheltered and more peaceful Riverside courtyard with its cosy seating areas scattered with kilim cushions and festoon lighting (I imagine this to be a rather special spot in the evening, preferably sans children!) Inside the pub is airy and bright with lots of tables and some beautifully stylish, yet homey furnishings. This pub is a winner in all seasons. Although we didn’t eat on this occasion, the menu looks very tasty (if a little pricey) and they offer a good children’s menu too (more interesting than the standard fish fingers and chips that are usually on offer).

While the pub itself is well worth a visit, the best thing about this place is the fabulous little walk, starting at the pub car park and taking in all of the sights around this picturesque little village. It’s the perfect length for little ones and just long enough to justify popping in to the pub on your return for a nice cold beverage! Just two miles long (it took us around an hour, carrying both girls in slings) it’s a nice flat route. That being said, this is not a pram walk – you’ll need to tackle a number of stiles so slings are a must if you’ve got babies and toddlers in tow. You’ll amble through open fields where sheep and shetland ponies graze; circle around the pretty Litton fishing lakes where you’ll cross a dam before strolling along a stream that is perfect for paddling; and you’ll wander past some pretty incredible houses (personally, I love checking out other people’s homes).

A couple of things to note: in wet weather, some parts of the walk can get very muddy so wellies will be required. And there’s a short section along the lake where the path gets very narrow so you’ll need to hold on to little hands!

As an extra special touch, the pub has created a lovely illustrated map of the walk for customers to use – the big one loved playing navigator. The map can also be downloaded here.

I’ll be sharing more child friendly pub walks in due course. Research is underway 😉