The Bugle Coaching Inn

About The Bugle Coaching Inn

The Bugle has stood on Yarmouth Square since the sixteenth century and still functions as the town's main pub. It is a coaching inn in the original sense - low beams, open fires, flagstones in places - with the bar occupying the ground floor and bedrooms above. The harbour, the castle and the Lymington ferry terminal are all within a minute or two on foot, which makes it one of the easiest places on the Island to reach without a car.

There are nine en-suite rooms, mostly doubles and twins, with a few overlooking the square. They are comfortable and straightforwardly furnished, with Wi-Fi, television and tea and coffee. Note that breakfast is not automatically included in the room rate, though packages that include it are usually available - worth checking when you book. Prices start below a hundred pounds outside peak season, which is good value for a location this central.

The kitchen serves pub food through the day: fish and chips, burgers, pies, seafood specials and a Sunday roast, with local ales and a decent wine list at the bar. The inn belongs to Character Inns, a family-run Island collective, and there is live music and a lively crowd on summer weekends. If you want silence, ask for a room at the back.

Yarmouth is a proper working town rather than a resort, with independent shops, a weekly market and boats coming and going all day. West Wight is on the doorstep: Freshwater Bay, Tennyson Down, the Needles and the Yar estuary cycle path are all easy trips. The Bugle suits walkers, sailors, foot passengers off the ferry and anyone who wants a sociable base at a sensible price.