The best country pubs in South Buckinghamshire are the ones hardest to leave by car: The Royal Standard of England at Forty Green, The Jolly Cricketers in Seer Green, Merlin's Cave on the green at Chalfont St Giles, the three inns on Village Road in Denham, The Old Queens Head at Penn and The Red Lion at Stoke Green. All eight were trading when we checked their own websites and Google listings in September 2026. Most are out on country lanes with no taxi rank outside, so the plan that works is simple: book the ride out and the ride back before you book the table.
- Forty Green, Seer Green, Chalfont St Giles, Denham village, Penn and Stoke Green each have a pub worth a special trip, all confirmed open in September 2026.
- The Old Queens Head in Penn and The Swan Inn in Denham close on Mondays and Tuesdays, so check the day before you plan around them.
- The Jolly Cricketers has no car park of its own, which makes being dropped at the door easier than parking.
- England's drink-drive limit cannot be converted into a safe number of pints, so the only reliable plan is that nobody drives.
Which South Bucks country pubs are worth the journey?
Eight inns stand out for character and setting, spread across the villages we drive every day. The list below is not a ranking. It is grouped by area so you can pick one near home or plan a longer evening further out.
The Royal Standard of England, Forty Green
This is the pub most locals take visitors to first. It sits in the hamlet of Forty Green, up the lanes north-west of Beaconsfield Old Town, and on its own website it describes itself as the oldest free house in England with more than 900 years behind it. Expect low beams, a garden that fills on summer weekends and a dog-friendly welcome. Food is served from 11:30am Monday to Saturday and from midday on Sundays (correct as of September 2026). There is a car park, but getting there means a drive along country lanes, which is exactly the journey nobody should make after a long lunch.
The Jolly Cricketers, Seer Green
A red-brick village pub opposite Holy Trinity Church, run by Chris and Amanda Lillitou since 2008. The pub's site says it has been part of Seer Green since 1831, has held Cask Marque accreditation for its ales since 2008 and won the Telegraph and Sawday's 2020 award for best dog-friendly pub. It opens from midday every day. The practical detail that matters: it has no car park, so drivers hunt for space around the church and side roads. Being dropped outside avoids that entirely, and the pub notes that Seer Green & Jordans station is less than a mile away if part of your group is coming by train.
Merlin's Cave, Chalfont St Giles
Merlin's Cave is a Young's pub on the village green, with a High Street address. According to its website, food is served from 12pm to 9pm every day and Sunday roasts are a fixture (correct as of September 2026). It is a sociable, quiz-and-sport sort of local rather than a hushed dining room, which suits a relaxed evening with friends.
Denham village: The Swan Inn, The Green Man and The Falcon Inn
Denham's Village Road has three old inns close together, which makes it the best place in the area for a gentle crawl. The Green Man says the building dates back some 600 years and became a pub at the end of the 1800s, close to the Colne Valley Park. The Falcon Inn calls itself a traditional 16th-century inn and also offers bed and breakfast. The Swan Inn is a country pub with a garden, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays except bank holidays, open until 8pm on Sundays (correct as of September 2026). If you move between them, arrange a single pickup point, such as outside The Swan, for the end of the night.
The Old Queens Head, Penn
On Hammersley Lane, opposite the church in Penn, The Old Queens Head is a country pub, restaurant and garden. Its opening pattern catches people out: closed Monday and Tuesday apart from bank holidays and private hire, open from midday to late Wednesday to Saturday, and midday to 8pm on Sunday, with Sunday food tables bookable until 5.45pm. Tables of nine or more pay a £10 per person deposit and pre-order (all correct as of September 2026). The pub's own directions from Beaconsfield follow the B474 towards Penn, then School Road and Hammersley Lane, so this is a lane-side evening for most people.
The Red Lion, Stoke Green
Stoke Green is a hamlet on the southern edge of Stoke Poges, and The Red Lion is its landmark: a pub and restaurant with a courtyard and outdoor dining, open from 11am daily until 10.30pm to 11.30pm depending on the day (correct as of September 2026). It is the natural choice if you live towards Farnham Common, Fulmer or Slough, and it pairs well with an afternoon at Stoke Poges or Burnham Beeches.
How do you get home from a pub down a country lane?
Pre-book both journeys when you reserve the table. Village pubs have no taxi rank outside, and a phone call at 10.45pm asking for a car "as soon as possible" is the worst time to start looking. A booking made in advance means the car is allocated before you leave home.
Three details make the return run smooth:
- Give the pub name and the lane. Red Lions and Crowns are common names in Buckinghamshire, so the village matters as much as the pub.
- Agree a pickup time, not a vague window. If dessert runs long, message us and the time moves. That is easier than a driver waiting outside with no idea whether you are on coffee or another round.
- Choose the vehicle for the group. A Mercedes-Benz E-Class or BMW 5 Series takes four; the SEAT Alhambra takes six, the V-Class seven and the Ford Tourneo eight.
We run 24 hours a day, so a late finish in Penn or Denham is routine rather than a special request, and the fare is fixed when you book, so closing time costs the same as teatime.
What is the drink-drive limit in England?
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the limit is 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, or 35 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath. GOV.UK is clear that it is impossible to say how many drinks that equals, because it depends on your weight, age, sex and metabolism, the type and amount of alcohol, what you have eaten recently and even your stress levels. Scotland's limit is lower. The same limit applies the next morning if alcohol is still in your system, which matters after a late night at the pub followed by an early drive.
That uncertainty is the real reason to take the car out of the evening. "One and done" still leaves the driver guessing, and the lanes around Forty Green, Penn and Seer Green are country roads used by cyclists and walkers as well as cars.
Which pubs suit which kind of evening?
| Pub | Village | Good to know | Nearest GX page |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Royal Standard of England | Forty Green | Claims England's oldest free house; garden; dogs welcome | Beaconsfield |
| The Jolly Cricketers | Seer Green | No car park; near Seer Green & Jordans station | Seer Green |
| Merlin's Cave | Chalfont St Giles | On the village green; food 12pm–9pm daily | Chalfont St Giles |
| The Swan, Green Man, Falcon | Denham | Three inns on Village Road; Swan shut Mon–Tue | Denham |
| The Old Queens Head | Penn | Shut Mon–Tue; Sunday until 8pm | Penn |
| The Red Lion | Stoke Green | Courtyard and outdoor dining | Stoke Poges |
Can you do more than one pub in an evening?
Yes, and Denham is the easiest place to do it because the three inns are on foot from one another. Elsewhere the pubs are miles apart, so a two-stop evening, say an early drink at The Jolly Cricketers followed by dinner in Forty Green, needs a car between them. Tell us the running order when you book and we will quote the whole evening as one fixed price, with a short wait or a second pickup built in. For birthdays and larger groups, our guide to booking taxis for a group night out covers splitting cars and staggered pickups.
What if some of the group arrive by train?
Seer Green & Jordans and Beaconsfield stations are both on the Chiltern Railways line from London Marylebone, so friends from town can meet you out here. We can collect them from the platform, take them to the pub and then take everyone home at the end, which saves a solo walk down an unlit lane from the station. Our Beaconsfield station pickups work the same way for guests arriving on a later train.
If the evening is for two rather than a crowd, our date night guide covers the restaurants of Beaconsfield Old Town and Gerrards Cross instead.