The Feathers Inn

The Feathers Inn is a small, family-run country pub and restaurant standing on a hill in Hedley on the Hill near Stocksfield, Northumberland, England. Built from local stone, it presents itself as a gathering place for locals, walkers and visitors, with three snug areas each featuring a wood-burning stove and a large covered outdoor yard open from Easter until September. The pub is family friendly and dogs are welcome in the bar and outside spaces. It closes annually for the first two weeks of January. The kitchen is led by a strong local-sourcing philosophy. The Feathers Inn states that its food begins with where it is: it works closely with local growers, farmers and foragers, using heritage-breed meats and wild greens that reflect the rhythms of the Northumbrian countryside. Everything is cooked from scratch every day, with menus that shift with the harvest, the weather and what is fresh from surrounding fields, farms and hedgerows. The pub also runs The Feathers Bakehouse, a Saturday-morning bakery from 10 am to 12 noon selling hand-made sweet buns, flaky pies and seasonal bakes. Rhian and Helen have been at The Feathers since 2007. Under their stewardship the pub has won a large number of awards for food, hospitality, ethical local sourcing and beers. These include The Good Food Guide Local Restaurant of the Year 2019 (Best Local Restaurant for the North East), The Good Pub Guide County Dining Pub of the Year award, won 14 times between 2007 and 2022, and repeated recognition in The Michelin Guide Eating Out in Pubs, where it was an inspector's favourite eight times between 2007 and 2019. Other honours include The Times top 20 UK gastro pubs, Observer Food Monthly awards, RSPCA independent pub awards, Great British Pub Awards and North East England Tourism awards. The Feathers Inn operates as a restaurant and pub with online booking for tables, while pizzas in the yard are strictly walk-up only. Its reservation times run Thursday to Saturday from 12–2pm and 6–8.30pm, and Sunday from 12–4.30pm. Opening hours are Thursday–Friday 12pm–11pm, Saturday 10am–11pm and Sunday 12pm–7pm. It sources Dexter beef from Southlands Farm, which also offers holiday cottages. The pub maintains a presence on Twitter and Facebook and offers a mailing list. It is a private, independent business rather than part of a large pub group or chain.

The Feathers Inn is a country pub in Hedley on the Hill, near Stocksfield in Northumberland, England. It is described in public data as a pub in Hedley On The Hill, Northumberland, UK. The building is constructed from local stone and has long served as a gathering place for locals, walkers and visitors enjoying the Northumberland countryside. The modern chapter of The Feathers Inn began in 2007, when Rhian and Helen took over the pub. Since then they have won a great number of awards for their food, hospitality, ethical local sourcing and beers. The pub's award record is unusually long and consistent for a small independent country pub. It was named Great British Pub Awards Newcomer of the Year in 2008 and Great British Gastropub of the Year in 2011, and won the Great British Pub of the Year title in 2011. The Good Pub Guide recognised it as Northumbria Dining Pub of the Year in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, and later as County Dining Pub of the Year in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 — a total of 14 County Dining Pub of the Year awards between 2007 and 2022 according to the pub's own account. The Michelin Guide Eating Out in Pubs listed The Feathers Inn as an inspector's favourite eight times between 2007 and 2019, and the pub continues to appear in The Michelin Guide and The Good Food Guide in 2025. The Good Food Guide named it Local Restaurant of the Year 2019, specifically Best Local Restaurant for the North East, a diner-nominated award celebrating the contribution that neighbourhood restaurants make to their communities. The Sunday Sun awarded it Sunday Lunch of the Year 2019. The Times included it among the top 20 UK gastro pubs in 2014 and 2015, and in 2014 it was listed in The Sunday Times definitive guide of Britain's 130 best restaurants. Other recognitions include a Gold Award at the North East England Tourism Awards 2013, the Sawday Guides Local, Seasonal & Organic Produce Award in 2013 and 2014, Observer Food Monthly Best Sunday Lunch Runner Up 2012 and Ethical Restaurant Readers Award Runner Up 2015, RSPCA Independent Pubs Award Winner 2011, RSPCA Award Pub/Restaurant 2010, RSPCA Good Business Award for Innovation 2009, Publican Food Awards Local Food Pub of the Year 2008, Food Champion of the Year at The Publican Food & Drink Awards 2010, Northern Hospitality Awards Best Pub 2010, and Living North Magazine Best Pub 2016. The pub's operating model has remained small and rooted in its locality. It cooks everything from scratch every day, works closely with local growers, farmers and foragers, and buys Dexter beef from Southlands Farm, which also has holiday cottages. It has three snug areas with wood-burning stoves and a large covered outdoor yard open from Easter until September. The Feathers Bakehouse opens on Saturday mornings from 10 am to 12 noon, selling hand-made sweet buns, flaky pies and seasonal bakes. The pub closes for the first two weeks of January each year. It takes restaurant reservations online and by phone, while pizzas in the yard are strictly walk-up only. It maintains a presence on Twitter and Facebook and runs a mailing list.

• 2025

  Listed in The Michelin Guide 2025 and The Good Food Guide 2025.

• 2022

  The Good Pub Guide County Dining Pub of the Year (14th such award between 2007 and 2022).

• 2019

  The Good Food Guide Local Restaurant of the Year (Best Local Restaurant for the North East); The Sunday Sun Sunday Lunch of the Year; The Good Pub Guide County Dining Pub of the Year; Michelin Guide Eating Out in Pubs inspector's favourite.

• 2017

  The Good Pub Guide County Dining Pub of the Year.

• 2016

  Living North Magazine Best Pub; The Good Pub Guide County Dining Pub of the Year.

• 2015

  The Times top 20 UK gastro pubs; Observer Food Monthly Ethical Restaurant Readers Award Runner Up; The Good Pub Guide County Dining Pub of the Year.

• 2014

  Listed in The Sunday Times definitive guide of Britain's 130 best restaurants; The Times top 20 UK gastro pubs; Sawday Guides award again.

• 2013

  Gold Award at North East England Tourism Awards; Sawday Guides Local, Seasonal & Organic Produce Award.

• 2012

  Observer Food Monthly Best Sunday Lunch Runner Up.

• 2011

  Great British Pub of the Year and Great British Gastropub of the Year; RSPCA Independent Pubs Award Winner.

• 2010

  RSPCA Award Pub/Restaurant; Northern Hospitality Awards Best Pub; Food Champion of the Year at The Publican Food & Drink Awards.

• 2009

  RSPCA Good Business Award for Innovation.

• 2008

  Named Great British Pub Awards Newcomer of the Year; The Good Pub Guide Northumbria Dining Pub of the Year.

• 2008

  Publican Food Awards Local Food Pub of the Year.

• 2007

  Rhian and Helen take over The Feathers Inn.

A small, family-run country pub with a big heart, offering honest food thoughtfully made and always rooted in place and season, with award-winning ethical local sourcing.

• Seasonal restaurant menu

  Menus that shift with the harvest, weather and fresh local produce.

• Sunday roast

  A traditional Sunday offering; The Sunday Sun named it Sunday Lunch of the Year 2019.

• Pizza in the yard

  Walk-up only pizzas served in the covered outdoor yard.

• The Feathers Bakehouse bakes

  Hand-made sweet buns, flaky pies and seasonal bakes sold Saturday mornings 10am–12 noon.

• Cask beers and drinks

  Pub drinks offering recognised in awards for beers.

1. 1The Feathers Inn • Hedley on the Hill, Stocksfieldthefeathers.net
2. 2About us : The Feathers Inn • Hedley on the Hill, Stocksfieldthefeathers.net
3. 3Our awards : The Feathers Inn • Hedley on the Hill, Stocksfieldthefeathers.net
4. 4Feathers Innwikidata.org