An abandoned 18th-century inn has been given a new lease of life, Melanie Greenwood learns

LOCATION, location, location, goes the old  saying, and quaint Monkton Combe, with  the renovated 18th-century Wheelwrights Arms,  ticks all  the boxes.

Set down a  tiny  lane in this chocolate-boxvillage of honey-coloured stone, the neglectedand virtually abandoned inn, with breathtaking valley views, reopened back in July.David Munn,  who owns  a successfulLondon wine bar, has breathed new life intothe inn’s solid  shell. While maintaining the250-year-old charms, he’s created a  stylishbar, restaurant  and seven-luxury-roomboutique hotel. He  said: “I’ve always wanted a little hoteland fell for the Wheelwright’s Arms when Isaw the location, although it was a run-downwreck on the verge of closure.”It’s easy to find, we were told, so we didn’tdig out the trusty old map, relying on sat navfor the last few miles outside Bath. Maybe it  was  the weather  but  the  signalfled, leaving  struggling me, husband and  thein-laws to find our  way through tiny roadswith patience fraying.After  two stops  for  directions we  reachedthe steep climb up Brassknocker Hill and itwas a relief to see the pub’s glowing windowsin this picture-postcard village.The Wheelwrights  Arms  was  constructedby carpenter William Harold as a home andworkshop in about  1750. By  1871, WilliamHarold III converted the house into a pub and,in 1981, the  workshops became bed and breakfast accommodation.

The Wheelwright’s Arms  is a  smoke andclutter-free zone of cosy simplicity inside,with solid  wood tables and a  soothing sagegreen colour  scheme. There’s  room for  45diners  inside and 120  outside aroundlandscaped garden  terraces, with  stunningvalley views  and heaters  for diehardsmokers, making it  a lovely  place  to  settlenext summer.We sat at a large table in our own windowedinglenook, off the main room, with a real fire.And the service was excellent; on tap but notove rbea ring.The pub has real ales, at  present twoButcombe and two Bath cask brews for £2.60 apint, along  with a 20-strong range of whiteand red wines by the glass (£3.30 regular, £4.30large) and bottles  from a reasonable £12.50.These include Firebird Legend CabernetSauvignon, a rich  red, and white CouveeE toile.For  starters,  the in-laws  shared a  soup ofthe day (£4.50) with organic crusty bread, asthey wanted space for  the main meal. Thesoup was a creamy delight with wildm u sh room s.Tom tucked into a risotto of butternutsquash,  spinach, parmesan and parsley  oil(£6.50). We like our risotto but Tom said  thestock tasted a bit  on the powdery  side andfresh is quintessential  to  this simple buttricky dish. I picked grilled polenta cake withwild mushrooms,  sunblush  tomato and lightcitrus garlic butter  (£5.90) which was trulygorgeous.For  mains, father-in-law Frank, aLancashire man, picked an 8oz rib-eye steak(£16.50), with chunky  chips, tomatoes, fieldmushrooms  and pepper sauce – puremachismo on a plate and he was in heaven.“Lovely,  this, Hilda,” he managed to  say,adding: “Why don’t you  do this at home?”