Hotel hit squad Arundell Arms

Even if angling isn’t your thing, you won’t feel like a fish out of water at this sporting inn, says Fiona Duncan

Fishing hotels – that is, hotels that offer fishing, guides and tuition on rivers either owned or leased by them – have been a stalwart of British hospitality for decades, if not centuries. Sadly, though, they are thin on the ground these days and many of them have concentrated more on the business of hotel keeping for all comers and less on the quality of the fishing.

Of Britain’s traditional fishing hotels, the Arundell Arms, an inconspicuous coaching inn situated in an inconspicuous village in Devon, is one of the most beloved. In recent times, it had been treading water somewhat but now it is back with a splash, and the sporting side of the hotel has once again taken centre stage.

In the early 1960s, Anne Voss Bark became the hotel’s celebrated owner. She and her husband had moved from London to Devon for his health and his favourite pastime; she too learned to fish and immediately fell in love with the sport – and the hotel she had at first reluctantly taken on. During her long tenure, it was known for its excellent food, as well as for Anne’s personality and her prowess at fly fishing.

One of the things that drew Anne to the fishing community was its gentleness and innate good manners, still palpable today; so much so that when the new owners Simon Village and his partner, Arabella Monro, began renovating during lockdown, they found that restoration – of furniture, fittings, mirrors, flooring and so on – rather than replacement was what the building asked for.

Both have a City background and neither had ever run a hotel before but, passionate about fishing and Devon dwellers themselves, they have thrown themselves into their new life with hands-on gusto.

There is still much to do, including the creation of a kitchen garden, but they have already made a great start without in the least disturbing the tranquil, traditional feel of the hotel and its balance of formality and informality. Everything has been freshly and prettily painted, with new curtains and beds and upgraded bathrooms, but the slate-floored sitting room remains full of comfy sofas and armchairs, the plain, Georgian feel of the rambling bar has been emphasised, the pretty, simple bedrooms are equipped with Roberts Radios but remain without TVs (though they are available on request), and outside in the garden the 260-year-old circular cockpit that does service as the tackle room is most certainly still there.

In an outbuilding next to the hotel there used to be a skittles alley. Now it is a hugely popular deli, started by Simon and Arabella initially to cater for the many people with electric cars who flock to the row of charging points in the car park. Such is the deli’s popularity that it will soon expand into the upper floor as well.

Talking of food – “The last thing you want, if you have had a bad day’s fishing”, said Anne Voss Bark, “is to come back to bad food.” You won’t. In the dining room, the gear shifts. You are no longer in a cosy country inn, but in a grand hotel (the room was once the village assembly hall) with high ceilings, full-length windows and flowing curtains, candles on white tablecloths and a glittering central chandelier.

Ashley Wright is the impressive head chef. He has recently put his brigade on a long four-day week instead of five and says it has made the kitchen (which produces everything for the deli as well as for the dining room and bar) a far happier and more motivated place.

We certainly ate well: soused mackerel and handpicked crab with pink grapefruit and cucumber and local venison with beetroot, orange and chocolate jus for dinner. The hot smoked trout with scrambled eggs we had for breakfast was just as impressive.

You don’t have to fish (or indeed shoot: that pursuit is on offer, too). The hotel makes a perfect base anyway, amid some of England’s loveliest countryside, for visiting both Devon and Cornwall. But if you want to learn, here is your chance: the Arundell Arms owns 20 miles of fishing on the Tamar and its tributaries, plus a beautiful 90ft-deep lake, ideal for teaching beginners.

Head ghillie Alex Jones is busy improving the beats and has a team of half a dozen experts available for guiding and tuition, including David Pilkington who has been at the Arundell since the days of the indomitable Anne Voss Bark.

Double rooms cost from £150 per night, including breakfast