Devon Pub Guide: 
          The Hunters Inn, North Devon

Location, location, location. The Hunters Inn pub is blessed with the most magical setting, tucked at the bottom of the exquisitely beautiful Heddon Valley on Exmoor. The narrow road from the moor descends beneath a canopy of ancient trees. Sun-dappled leaves glitter and gleam. The river runs past the inn and a short walk takes you to the beach. Dear God, it's gorgeous.

Originally a small cottage, the Hunters has expanded over the years to become an expansive and resolutely old-fashioned pub and hotel with a deeply laid-back attitude. It seems to say "take us or leave us" – and most people tend to take it.

The place is a curio. Its decor is resolutely stuck in the Seventies, as are some of the gloriously eccentric clientele – a woman in a multicoloured boilersuit, a man in plus fours and a chap in a pork pie hat. A huge marble fireplace faces the front door, while the walls are covered with vinyl paper and there are islands of wildly patterned carpet dotted about on the floor. A lick of paint wouldn't go amiss in some areas.

However, and this is a big however, this lack of pristine modernism and the sense of ramshackle rusticity and unpolished honesty is what gives the Hunters Inn its considerable charm. The landlord is very friendly, even though he's rushed off his feet.

Despite its isolated location, it's a popular place – music nights are common, regulars organise photography competitions and on the Sunday we visited, a lively beer and music festival was in full swing. It has even been awarded North Devon Pub of the Year.

At the bar there is good-natured banter about the previous night's goings-on, as beers such as Exmoor Stag (dark amber and choc-a-bloc with rich malty notes) or the flowery Otter Amber are ordered as if there was no tomorrow (there were 24 ales to choose from in total). The food is good as well. Chicken stuffed with Parma ham and pine nuts (£10.95) is surprisingly elegant, while baguettes (£5.95) or a fresh crab sandwich (£6.50) are delicious. On the face of it, the Hunters Inn shouldn't work, but it does – gloriously.