The Three Cups is a fifteenth century coaching inn that ticks all the boxes of a traditional old English freehouse with all the trimmings. At the front, you can sit and watch the world go by with views over the bustling Stockbridge high street. Out back, there is a private beer garden where you can feed the swans as a carrier stream to the river Test burbles past your feet. Complete with cosy rooms, a log fireplace, and duck-worthy low oak beams, this hearty little gastropub has everything to welcome you home after a long day in the Hampshire countryside.
“When I think of The Three Cups, I think of curling up in front of the fireplace and turning the pages through their menu of cockle-warming soups, hearty pies and classic pub grub. This is the place the guides and keepers meet for their post river pint.” – Jamie Pankhurst | Founder & Managing Director at Wilde Trout
This fine country pub is just a two minute walk from the main river Test, with its very own slice of gin clear chalkstream running through the beer garden. There is a range of prime river Test and tributary beats within a 10 minute drive of Stockbridge, and the River Itchen is just 30 minutes east near Winchester. If you need to pick up some last minute essentials on the way, the Three Cups is almost immediately adjacent to both fantastic tackle shops, Orvis and Robjents.
Just 30 minutes west of the medieval city of Winchester, the fly fishing capital, Stockbridge, is nestled at the beating heart of the Test Valley. The Three Cups is conveniently placed at one end of the high street so, walking east, there is a great bundle of boutiques, artisans, coffee houses, eateries and art galleries to explore. Local heritage attractions are Danebury Hillfort and Mottisfont Abbey, and the Houghton Tea Rooms and Longstock Water Gardens make a nice break away from the river. Join the Test Way for a ramble with riverside views. A further 30 minutes west is Salisbury, a gorgeous cathedral city, and beyond that, Stonehenge, with nothing in between but the vast rolling hills of rural Hampshire.
Fly fishing and field sports are a common theme at the Three Cups and, in the restaurant, the walls are hung with trophy brown trout and paintings depicting local game and country pursuits. Exposed brickwork, wood-panelled walls and weathered oak beams lean into the rustic appeal throughout and deep leather sofas are the best place to throw your feet up and enjoy the local tipple on tap. The pub is furnished with proper solid old wooden tables, the kind you might test with a tappety-tap-tap of the knuckles, and tastefully upholstered bar stools, with one rather inviting snug that surrounds the log fireplace. In their own words, the bar is staunchly loyal to their freehouse status so the ales they serve change with every barrel. This is the pub the locals call their own.
Upstairs there are eleven beautifully furnished rooms, elegantly decorated in keeping with a contemporary countryside cottage. Each come with en suite, Egyptian cotton bedding, television, fresh ground coffee and teas, and a hearty full English breakfast. Our favorite has to be the Deluxe Triple Room for its gorgeous exposed brickwork and ancient oak beams melded into the gable end. There is a generous queen double and single bed so it’s perfect for a family of three. Dogs are also welcome which is a big plus for all you lab lovers! The staff are effervescent and attentive in every measure.
Lunch is everything you would expect from a country gastropub. Starters are homemade scotch egg with an apple cider chutney, or whole mozzarella salad served with fresh tomatoes. Soup of the day is often a chunky vegetable, chicken, or potato served hot with thick cut bread and butter. Mains are pork and sage sausages, or faggots from the famous John Robinson’s butchers just up the high street, pan fried River Test Trout with leeks, peas and crushed new potatoes, and old favourites like scampi and triple cooked chips, or the Aberdeen angus burger with Three Cups slaw. The uber indulgent dessert menu flaunts all the pub classics; eton mess, crème brulee, sticky toffee pudding, banana split, and to round it all off a selection of local cheeses served with crackers, & chutney. The Three Cups also wins top marks for fine local brewership, insisting on serving only the very best local pale ales on tap.
The Three Cups is a fifteenth century coaching inn that ticks all the boxes of a traditional old English freehouse with all the trimmings. At the front, you can sit and watch the world go by with views over the bustling Stockbridge high street. Out back, there is a private beer garden where you can feed the swans as a carrier stream to the river Test burbles past your feet. Complete with cosy rooms, a log fireplace, and duck-worthy low oak beams, this hearty little gastropub has everything to welcome you home after a long day in the Hampshire countryside.
“When I think of The Three Cups, I think of curling up in front of the fireplace and turning the pages through their menu of cockle-warming soups, hearty pies and classic pub grub. This is the place the guides and keepers meet for their post river pint.” – Jamie Pankhurst | Founder & Managing Director at Wilde Trout
This fine country pub is just a two minute walk from the main river Test, with its very own slice of gin clear chalkstream running through the beer garden. There is a range of prime river Test and tributary beats within a 10 minute drive of Stockbridge, and the River Itchen is just 30 minutes east near Winchester. If you need to pick up some last minute essentials on the way, the Three Cups is almost immediately adjacent to both fantastic tackle shops, Orvis and Robjents.
Just 30 minutes west of the medieval city of Winchester, the fly fishing capital, Stockbridge, is nestled at the beating heart of the Test Valley. The Three Cups is conveniently placed at one end of the high street so, walking east, there is a great bundle of boutiques, artisans, coffee houses, eateries and art galleries to explore. Local heritage attractions are Danebury Hillfort and Mottisfont Abbey, and the Houghton Tea Rooms and Longstock Water Gardens make a nice break away from the river. Join the Test Way for a ramble with riverside views. A further 30 minutes west is Salisbury, a gorgeous cathedral city, and beyond that, Stonehenge, with nothing in between but the vast rolling hills of rural Hampshire.
Fly fishing and field sports are a common theme at the Three Cups and, in the restaurant, the walls are hung with trophy brown trout and paintings depicting local game and country pursuits. Exposed brickwork, wood-panelled walls and weathered oak beams lean into the rustic appeal throughout and deep leather sofas are the best place to throw your feet up and enjoy the local tipple on tap. The pub is furnished with proper solid old wooden tables, the kind you might test with a tappety-tap-tap of the knuckles, and tastefully upholstered bar stools, with one rather inviting snug that surrounds the log fireplace. In their own words, the bar is staunchly loyal to their freehouse status so the ales they serve change with every barrel. This is the pub the locals call their own.
Upstairs there are eleven beautifully furnished rooms, elegantly decorated in keeping with a contemporary countryside cottage. Each come with en suite, Egyptian cotton bedding, television, fresh ground coffee and teas, and a hearty full English breakfast. Our favorite has to be the Deluxe Triple Room for its gorgeous exposed brickwork and ancient oak beams melded into the gable end. There is a generous queen double and single bed so it’s perfect for a family of three. Dogs are also welcome which is a big plus for all you lab lovers! The staff are effervescent and attentive in every measure.
Lunch is everything you would expect from a country gastropub. Starters are homemade scotch egg with an apple cider chutney, or whole mozzarella salad served with fresh tomatoes. Soup of the day is often a chunky vegetable, chicken, or potato served hot with thick cut bread and butter. Mains are pork and sage sausages, or faggots from the famous John Robinson’s butchers just up the high street, pan fried River Test Trout with leeks, peas and crushed new potatoes, and old favourites like scampi and triple cooked chips, or the Aberdeen angus burger with Three Cups slaw. The uber indulgent dessert menu flaunts all the pub classics; eton mess, crème brulee, sticky toffee pudding, banana split, and to round it all off a selection of local cheeses served with crackers, & chutney. The Three Cups also wins top marks for fine local brewership, insisting on serving only the very best local pale ales on tap.
A Bed and Breakfast double ranges from £150 in the low season, to £210 in the high. Mains come in at about £19.00.
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