Biddestone, to me, represents the quintessential English village. The approaching narrow lanes open out into a green with a duck pond, surrounded by mellow stone houses.

Beside the green is The White Horse, a friendly village pub, which is particularly popular in summer with its outside tables overlooking the pond and the green. It has a fine collection of small Toby jugs hanging from the ceiling of the bar.

There is also a garden at the back where children can play safely.

This time of year there is an inviting cosy log fire in the bar.

There are three dining rooms off the bar, one for smokers.

We prefer the music of human conversation to piped music in pubs, but at the White Horse it was middle of the road pop played at a volume you could ignore, which suited us.

There were some eccentrically named dishes on the menu. Woolly Bully pie sounded intriguing.

It was described as tender chunks of lamb cooked slowed in a minted sauce with onion and topped with flaky pastry.

Or how about pesto chicken with goats' cheese? Or crusted cod, which was cod in a parmesan and basil coating?

There was also more traditional fare such as beef and ale pie and liver and onions with mash.

There were five other fish dishes, four choices of steak, a generous sounding mixed grill, homemade soups and pates and four vegetarian options.

My husband picked the potato peel out for starters, which was a meal in itself, with two potato skins filled with bacon and onion, topped with cheese, lightly grilled and served with a creme fraiche and chive dip and salad.

I chose, rather boringly, garlic bread, but what a treat that was, two baguette halves, crisply toasted and oozing garlicky butter. With hindsight it would have been sensible to have shared our starters. We'll know another time.

The crusted cod tempted Reg for main course. It lived up to expectations. He said the basil was more apparent than the parmesan but he wasn't complaining.

I also went for fish the buttered salmon with Norwegian prawns and new potatoes and salad.

Both meals were perfectly cooked. The fish was moist and flavoursome. Extra butter was provided for the new potatoes.

The friendly cook also popped in and out of the kitchen helping to serve the meals.

Spotted Dick was on the pudding menu and normally I can't resist it. But I was too full and instead chose lemon brule which sounded light and palate cleansing.

The crispy caramel top was scrumptious. I'm not sure whether the lemony bit underneath was meant to be frozen or if it should have been creamy, but it was like a lemon sorbet slightly melted around the edges. I enjoyed it anyway.

We had a bottle of Argentinian Merlot for a reasonable £11.50.

The whole bill came to £41.65.

The White Horse

The Green,

Biddestone, Chippenham

(01249) 713305

  • Open all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and 11.30 to 2.30pm, 5pm to 11pm Monday to Thursday
  • Credit and debit cards accepted
  • Vegetarian options
  • Children and dogs welcome