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There's no winding drive, no garden, no spa nor gym. In fact, The Stump is just a few yards from the busy A429 between Cirencester and Stow-on-the-Wold.

And yet, it’s far more convivial and remarkably less pricey than many of other Cotswolds hotels basking in the area’s celebrity reputation.

Which helps explain why it’s packed. Every room – there are ten, including two ‘cottage suites’ – and every table is booked.

And what we love is the range of happy revellers.

Pizza palace: 17th-century roadside inn The Stump, just outside Cirencester on the A429, offers an alternative to traditional pub grub

Away to our left near the pool table is a gathering of locals celebrating an 18th birthday. Perched on stools at the bar is an elderly gentleman in tweed jacket and brogues on best behaviour with a smartly turned out woman of about the same vintage.

At another round table, four young couples (the men all wearing regimental farmer-type gilets) are in fine spirits and there’s a smattering of families with young children. We count at least six dogs.

‘We’re full pretty much every night from April to October,’ says our cheery waitress. And I can well believe it.

This is the latest project from childhood friends Baz and Fred (aka Harry Henriques and Fred Hicks), who made a name for themselves as purveyors of pizzas in London and then took over the New Inn in the Gloucestershire village of Coln St Aldwyns.

The 17th century Stump used to be an Arkell’s pub called the Hare and Hounds. It has been transformed but what remains is the huge sloping tiled roof over the main building – a joy to behold but ‘expensive to maintain’, says the manager who checks us in.

Formerly the ailing but historic Hare and Hounds, The Stump was snapped up by London Bridge-based pizza maestros Baz & Fred in 2019. Right: Discs of dough are puffed up and fired to perfection in a silver-domed oven and the genuinely enticing toppings

We are billeted in one of the cottages and paying £230. It would be double elsewhere, given the free-standing tub, separate walk-in shower, fluffy white bed linen, sisal carpet and smart television already set up for Netflix et al.

There’s plenty of outdoor space for alfresco dining, and in winter guests can huddle around one of the three open fires. Candles flicker (even at breakfast) and old church chairs make the whole confection feel like an ancient crypt.

The ancient Cotswold creamy stone interiors have been perfectly preserved

It’s a long time since I’ve come across first courses starting at £6 and it’s refreshing to see bottles of wine costing £24 rather than £34, especially in this rarified part of the world.

‘You should really try one of the pizzas,’ says our waitress. ‘You won’t regret it.’ So we go for the chorizo and nduja option. Delicious, but I’m not totally sure about honey on a pizza.

I imagine this was once a small farmholding before it became a coaching inn.

The standard rooms are in what used to be the stables. There is also a take-away pizza shack on the roadside. Breakfast is a restrained affair.

There are sore heads (well, mine, at least) but nothing to make things worse, such as uninvited music.

For the building as a whole, it’s a lull before the Sunday lunch market kicks in.

Hospitality is having a torrid time, but The Stump proves that if you get the price right, and can persuade bright young things to fetch and carry, there’s still hope.

And, of course, a ramshackle collection of honey-coloured buildings brought back to life in an unpretentious sort of way is crucial.