The Museum Inn in Carlisle

Outstanding service, every member of staff was incredibly friendly, helpful and wanting to please. Food was amazing, we had dinner one of the nights and breakfasts each morning. High quality and local ingredients cooked to perfection! Will definitely stay again!

A really nice premium experience. But very difficult to get taxis in the location and it’s quite a walk to anywhere else Staff was wonderful

A lovely Inn in a quiet village location. Comfy rooms, good food and drink and very pleasant and helpful staff. Good parking with facility for electric car charging.

Fantastic stay at the Museum inn , lovely room , tasty food and great service . Only downside was I only stayed a night !! Will be back for a longer stay soon .

We loved it! Lovely, lovely place with really nice staff and fabulous food. What more could you want?

Wed 7 May 2025 - another delicious meal at The Museum, hosted by the winning A Team (Amanda, Alex and Georgia)! Not sure of our server’s name but everyone as usual so welcoming. Butcombe Loyalty card did its work again with our discount! Butcombe Original Beer also hit the spot as always. We shall return - thanks to all! x Warmly welcomed by the lovely Amanda. As always a delicious meal and friendly atmosphere. Chef specials are always excellent, last night my husband had the hake fillet special and I had fish and chips. We were very hungry so had a starter of posh fries (skinny fries/truffle/cheese) naughty but so good! Also 2 pints of Butcombe Original - a favourite. Used my Butcombe Loyalty card to get the 25% Wed discount - we shall return again and again!

We were very well looked after. The service was attentive and friendly throughout (with a special mention for Amanda). Super breakfasts and a very good dinner menu. Thank you Butcombe.

We loved this gem of an inn, genuinely thoughtful and on-it staff, super comfy bed, great food, beautiful location

What a fantastic experience! The Museum Inn is a beautiful hotel located in a cozy and peaceful village that immediately puts you at ease. The atmosphere in the hotel is very pleasant, with a warm and welcoming vibe. The food was absolutely superb – from dinner to the exceptional breakfast, everything was spot on. The hospitality was top-notch; the staff were attentive, friendly, and made us feel right at home. A lovely surprise during our stay: we received a packed lunch from a kind elderly couple who were on a walking trip – they had more than enough and gave us one of theirs. The sandwich inside was nothing short of divine – a real foodgasm! The hotel itself is stylish, with beautiful, well-kept rooms that offer great comfort. The surrounding village is peaceful and picturesque – I fell in love with it. Without a doubt: on our next trip to England, we’ll be staying here again! I would highly recommend this place to anyone passing through the area.

Food left a poor impression. Not good for a summertime menu. Yes it was very tasty, but serving steak with only watercress & half a slice of a mushroom? Serving a curry with no rice? Only the pie was up to scratch. And the prices were high.

Fab stay, thank you. The staff are so helpful and friendly. They even lent us some cufflinks for a wedding :) thanks again x

The Museum Inn is beautifully situated. The staff are really welcoming and the service is excellent. We had supper there for the first time and the food was really good. They also accommodated a fussy diner really well and the Chef provided a fabulous dish for them.

Fantastic Inn! Welcoming, cozy, delicious food, and beautiful surroundings!

Booked a last minute stay here on our way through. Positives - Arrival chap was great, showed us to the room and helped us out with the WiFi! The room was clean, felt cool despite the hot weather and overall was a comfortable and big enough environment for our overnight stay. I’d mentioned the night before that we might be having guests join us for breakfast, around 9:30 but was unable to confirm as the WiFi was rough. In the morning around 9, I went in to a somewhat flustered waitress around 9:15, to confirm the amount of people, to be told oh the chef normally shuts the kitchen around 9:45 so you’ll have to order quick and then proceeded to give us a list of things that would be acceptable to order as they were deemed not too complicated. Our full party arrived and everything was ordered, 1 person turned up 5 mins later and ordered something we had previously been told was not available with problem. When the food arrived, all the poached eggs were as good hard boiled and all the toast was hard / burnt as was the brioche bun my bacon was on. After checking the website we can see breakfast was supposed to be until 11am. Overall the place was good, the ambience was nice, I’d have gone 3.5 stars if possible but settled on 4 because of the positive interactions the night before.

Very nice all round. Very relaxing, good service, good food and a great location. We had a really nice lazy lunch - ideal.

Wonderful place. Breakfast and the service was superb. Thank you. We will return.

Excellent location and a wonderful atmosphere with convenient private parking right outside the door. The village is beautiful and peaceful.

Stayed here for a stopover just for 1 night, and the rooms are very quiet, exactly what you would imagine a small country pub in rural england. We ate with friends in the evening and the menu was great, food excellent albeit they had run out of some of the specials. Breakfast was great, we were served by one of the funniest and friendliest people you could ever meet, I won't say her name, because she asked me not to......... :)

We had a fantastic stay at The Museum Inn. From the moment we arrived, we were welcomed with warm smiles and exceptional service that made us feel right at home. A big thank you to Paulo, Amanda, Tim and the rest of the team. The room was impeccably clean and beautifully decorated. The staff are incredibly attentive and always ready to assist with any request. The hotel's facilities, including the restaurant and lovely lounge area, are beautifully decorated and the food was absolutely delicious. We are already looking forward to our next visit and will certainly be recommending your hotel to friends and family. Please pass on our compliments to the entire team. See you soon!

We had a lovely lovely restful stay. The room was comfortable, the breakfast was delicious and the staff were really helpful. We and our dog plan to visit again. Thanks all

lovely pub, good staff and very good food , what more do you need 5 stars all round

The Museum Inn is a delightful spot. This quaint inn boasts a surprisingly good selection of drinks, perfect for unwinding after a day out. And if you're staying over, their breakfast is a lovely way to start the day. A charming and comfortable stay

Lovely country pub hotel. Great food. Highly recommended

Brilliant service, Amazing food!! 👌

Lovely gluten free fish and chip lunch at the Museum in Farnham .Will visit again as they understood gluten free issues. Lovely surroundings and decor made us feel welcome.

Very easy to book a table. We asked for a different table away from the fire which was no problem. Excellent food and service.

Booked Sunday lunch for four and really excellent . Great reception on arrival and had good table as one of our party has mobility issues . Good menu and great service and food was very good quality

We had dinner at The Museum Inn last night and we thoroughly enjoyed it all. The menu was varied, different from the usual, well priced and all our food choices were delicious. The staff were welcoming and helpful. The restaurant and pub itself are attractive and the setting is beautiful. A hidden gem. This was our third visit and we will definitely be back.

This was a great place to stay for us whilst attending a wedding nearby. The village of Farnham is beautiful with a playground and thatched cottages. We were pleasantly surprised by the well equipped and comfortable rooms. The breakfast was fantastic and we were so glad we had included it in our booking. The staff had made a special effort to get our rooms ready for us early so we could get changed for the wedding. We appreciated that.

excellent stay & facility .... I however do need constant Wi-Fi connection and the hotel's was in the words of the owners '' terrible '' ...... in these modern times I would suggest that this is essential and must be upgraded to attract more custom ....

I stayed a night at The Museum Inn recently and was very well taken care of. My room was comfortable and well furnished and tea and coffee facilities were way above average with freshly ground coffee, herbal teas and cookies on offer. Toiletries were great. Dinner was served promptly and was delicious. Breakfast was possibly the nicest I have been offered on a bed and breakfast basis. Options included Eggs Benedict / Royale / Florentine and scrambled eggs with smoked salmon on sourdough toast and made choosing difficult! Service was uniformly good, professional and friendly. Dogs are Welcome. in all a great experience

This is a little gem in rural Dorset. I don’t pay; my employers do and they know that. But it takes nothing away from the friendly and “can do” attitude they adopt. Fresh milk to take to your room is a lovely touch. Those UHT cartons are the devil’s drink! My breakfast host this morning, Amanda, was absolutely delightful. Attentive, caring and wonderfully chatty. But for work, could have stayed there all morning. Please don’t be deceived that this is just a chain. Yes, they have a few but the individually here is wonderful.

Such a lovely place. So glad we found it for a birthday weekend. The food is delicious, good veggie choices and an amazing wine list. Plus they do carafes which is v good. Our room was fabulous, just beautiful, with a lovely dual aspect view, a really comfy bed, nice furniture and a great shower. Veggie/Vegan breakfast was really good. I also enjoyed all the historical Pitt Rivers pictures on the walls. WiFi didn't work and the phone signal out that way is poor, but it's a chance to be off grid maybe.

We had lunch at the Museum Inn today, lovely food, ( eggs Benedict with ham on bubble & squeak) and lovely welcome from the staff; Amanda met our every needs!

Lovely pub with good food in a quiet village.

We had the most relaxing stay at the Museum Inn over the weekend .A country house ,home from home feel located in a beautiful quintessential village. The team were warm, professional , combined with excellent service made for a superb stay.

The Museum Inn was a delight with fabulous individual rooms and a restaurant serving local foods. Amanada at breakfast was a delight and very cheery on a Sunday morning

Sorry this is not a good review as we’re reasonably regular customers. Service was especially slow - took 20 minutes to get a drinks order and ages for the food to arrive. Even the second drinks round took ages . A single course took an hour and a half …. Pie was really nice but fish batter undercooked so soggy and not very nice.

We loved the quiet, pretty village location. Perfect for visiting both Kingston Lacy and Stourhead. The food was excellent; we enjoyed breakfasts and evening meals. Great Comedy Night too! The staff were friendly and efficient. All round, a really enjoyable stay. Thanks Museum Inn!

Lovely meal with fantastic service.

Overall we had a lovely overnight stay at the Museum Inn on 1 April. The location is amazing, the food was good (although several options not available on the night we ate there) and the bed was very comfy in the Generals room. There are areas that need some TLC, such as the Generals bathroom which has paint peeling off the walls and a cracked window. The biggest issue for us was the service. While most of the staff were friendly and helpful enough, one particular person really let the side down. When asked by the manager to check us in, she looked at me, raised her eyebrows and said "Yeah?" which seemed a pretty unconventional way of greeting two guests. She reluctantly showed us to our room, said "If you need milk for tea and coffee you'll have to get it from the bar." Then turned and walked off. No "Have a nice stay" or anything like that. Later at dinner, she said "Do you want pudding?" and when I asked for a coffee she put it on the table without a word and walked off, not asking if I needed sugar or anything else. Her attitude was really poor - some training in basic customer service skills definitely needed. We stayed here for our wedding night some years ago and were looking forward to returning. We did have a lovely time despite the above but it could have been better. It's the little things that make a massive difference.

Looking rather shabby. Staff were very pleasant and helpful. Breakfast superb.

Having moved away from the area, The Museum is now my “home from home”, whenever I need to visit. I’m always greeted with a smile, the room is always clean and has everything I need, the food and service is excellent. Thank you to all the team for always looking after me so well.

Great location in a peaceful and friendly village. Staff couldn’t have been nicer. Could’ve done with some milk in the room to take advantage of the tea/coffee/biscuits.

We stayed at Museum Inn and had a meal for the live music night. Lovely comfortable and cosy room, great food, fantastic ambience in the pub, the staff were absolutely amazing, and we really enjoyed the live music

Lovely location, but extremely expensive.

We rented Moles Cottage and extra rooms in the Inn for a big family gathering to celebrate an 80th birthday. Absolutely outstanding accommodation, food and service. Luxury rooms and bathrooms. We had a sit down 3 course meal for 25 people with our own function room. The staff were so friendly and nothing was too much trouble. The food was hot when served, everyone enjoyed their food. The menu was impressively varied. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this venue for any occasion.

Great pub and Paulo and the team were very welcoming

Always a good warm welcome! Very good comfortable bedroom, very good food and generally excellent service even though it was busy with the restaurant full on the evening that I stayed.

The pub is located in the heart of a pretty village.We had a very comfortable room with excellent food - a great location for a weekend away.

A lovely ambience creating a very enjoyable stay in all ways. We would definitely recommend and will certainly be returning.

As always, a most pleasant stay at the Museum Inn. We have been visitors to the pub over the past 5 years. Very friendly service at dinner, lovely ambience in the dining room and varied menu. Breakfast very efficient, and agains great service. There are some signs of light refurbishment being required at the property, especially carpets, the bathroom in The Generals room, and paintwork to the exterior. Now that the pub is part of the Butcombe chain this will hopefully be attended to. Overall another very nice stay in such a peaceful location.

Came for a superb meal here, lovely service, interesting menu

Lovely venue in a super cute location. Staff were fabulous. Food was great. We will return.

Our family of 14 had a very pleasant time and delicious Sunday lunch at The Museum Inn. Friendly staff and great service. Definitely 5 stars.

Service very good I am afraid the food not good

A great pub in a beautiful setting

This review is about the restaurant as we did not stay here. It was our second visit (we are not local), having been a couple of years previously and really enjoyed it. As before, we were visiting for Sunday lunch and just as before it was excellent in every respect - the food, service, ambience, location. We will certainly visit again when in the area and only wished we lived closer. Highly recommend.

We had a fabulous week-end based in Moles Cottage. The cottage is ideal for 10 people with excellent clean ensuite bedrooms, open-plan downstairs area, large fire and well-equipped kitchen. Brilliant late Sunday lunch in The Museum - lovely staff, good service and generous portions of tasty food. Highly recommended.

Lovely one night stay here, dinner was excellent, fully recommend the homemade pies and fish cakes. The service was excellent. Would happily return

Very friendly and welcoming team. Amanda, in particular, went out of her way to look after us. A lovely break.

The Museum Inn was fantastic! The staff were really friendly and helpful, Michelle was great and made us feel really welcome. The accommodation was spacious and very comfortable. The food was excellent, even our dog had a sausage for breakfast! If you’re looking for a dog friendly place to stay I would definitely recommend the Museum Inn. We will definitely be back!

Rip off loyalty card scheme in place avoid this gaff very expensive for not that much...

Special birthday celebration for friends. A gang of 12, we had a room to ourselves which we were able to decorate and use for the whole afternoon, giving us a relaxing experience and no intrusion on other diners. Amazing Amanda helped with the set up. Nothing was too much trouble, even retrieving my runaway helium balloon! Food was delicious and well presented - we all had a variety of Sunday roasts followed by tasty desserts. Drinks were frequently topped up. The service was impeccable. All in all a memorable day for our birthday girls.

Very pleased to have our room upgraded as it was our wedding anniversary.

Fantastic pub with great food, warm & friendly staff and lovely atmosphere.

Loved our stay at the Museum Inn - the pub is fabulous and the people are so welcoming, friendly, and entertaining! We couldn't have asked for more. The menu is great, with a variety of specials on each day. We opted for three courses on both nights, with the steak, bacon chop, and chocolate rice pudding being the standouts (not all together!) The rooms are a little rough around the edges but the price is very good so it's hard to complain! Will definitely head back if I'm in that area again!

We love the Museum Inn, always a warm welcome and the food is excellent.

Lovely lunch, in a really nice pub. Staff friendly and very pleasant. Food fairly priced too. Would highly recommend.

Kay & Steve stayed recently and said the hotel, staff, food and service were excellent. The Admin team were very helpful in changing our booking date. Our names were wrong but other than that a very enjoyable stay. Highly recommend it.

Had a lovely Saturday evening meal with friends. Waitresses were very efficient and knowledgeable about Wines & Food. My friend has a Gluten Free & egg Free diet, and they went out of their way to make sure her food was ok. Lovely ambience and location. We are local and regular come here. Approx £50 per head for 2 courses excluding wine.

What a fantastic lunch had at the Museum Inn yesterday. We had one each of the starter and mains on the set menu. They were superb! The terrine was full of quality meat the piccalilli homemade and exceptional. The soup served with croutons and toasted sourdough bread was incredibly tasty. The smoked haddock was beautifully cooked and served. The bacon chop, red cabbage and sauté potatoes had a variety of flavours which complemented each other perfectly. We chose the South African Grenache and that went well with all the dishes. We think that this was the best meal that we have had since moving to the Salisbury area two years ago.

Great food and a fantastic village pub. Food is fantastic and the service exemplary. Stayed the night and the room is superb, clean and a home away from home. Highly recommended if I could have given 6 stars I would. A++++ all round

This was our first visit. We came across it on a Google maps search for Sunday lunch meeting a family member roughly half way between Salisbury and Poole. The pub is set in an idyllic village and was very welcoming from the moment we stepped inside. The staff were very friendly and helped with allergen information for a GF member of the party. There were good choices especially the desserts which could all be offered as a GFA. It is obviously a very popular place as it was very busy. The food took a long time to arrive but this wasn’t a problem for us as we felt relaxed in the environment and could appreciate how busy it was.

What a lovely experience , delicious food great environment and fab waitress service from Amanda. Such a friendly place and nothing was too much trouble even though it was a really hectic Sunday lunchtime. We will definitely come again. Thank you

The bathroom had paint falling off the walls the shower didn’t work and it didn’t look like the floor had been cleaned for a while. Plus the tiles were dirty. The food was poor, both at dinner and breakfast. The mash and veg were cold when they arrived at the table and the gravy was extremely watery and lacked flavour. The carpets in the breakfast room were stained and threadbare and the whole place looked like it needed cleaning. All in all, I would definitely not recommend.

We had a perfect evening, a lovely spot to catch up with good friends. The table service was excellent (unfortunately I can’t remember their name)

Booked and stayed here for my partners 40th birthday with family and friends. The cottage itself was amazing. The rooms were lovely, clean and very comfy. The open plan layout was great for big groups with plenty of space. The fact it is dog friendly was even better with a lovely garden. Be cautious though as its not completely enclosed and there is a couple of gaps that dogs could escape. The museum inn next door is a great pub. Staff very friendly and welcoming and the food was good. Location wise, it was ideal. Plenty of things to do nearby. Would have no issue booking this again and would recommend.

A lovely jem in the English countryside with lovely staff and friendly atmosphere with the nicest fish and chips I've had in a long time

Lovely lunch in a rustic location.

We had a lovely evening overall at The Museum, the atmosphere was lovely, it was really warm and cosy in the restaurant on a very cold evening. The welcome was friendly and the service was very good. We had an issue with one meal that was dealt with promptly and satisfactorily.

Great welcome and an enjoyable supper.

Excellent, very friendly service, a good, interesting and varied menu and well prepared and presented dishes. We will be back!

Amanda & Julia outshone today! Aimee & TJ what culinary experts they are, the best burger I’ve ever eaten, everything compliments everything so beautifully. It was so moist and presented beautifully. The service is second to none and the biscoff doughnuts are phenomenal, the absolute cherry on top!! The atmosphere is so wholesome, lovely environment, clean and cosy! Every visit it never fails to impress us we will be back very soon. Made our Tuesday much brighter especially the wonderful ladies serving us! 🖤

Amanda & Julia outshone today! Wow Aimee & TJ what culinary experts the best burger I’ve ever eaten everything compliments each other so beautifully so moist and the service is second to none and the biscoff doughnuts are phenomenal too!!!

Went for dinner only as The Museum is a local pub to us. Very pleasant service good choice on the menu. Husband had the pie a nice lot of beef inside,no leeks tho. We were told the pie would be about 30mins tho. But worth the wait I had the venison faggots,extremely tasty and cooked well. Good selection of beers sadly a couple weren’t available. Interior of the pub very welcoming nice open fire lit. The only little thing was,we wernt asked if we would like to see the dessert menu. Yes I know we could have asked. But all in all a very pleasant evening.

Really good service. A young chap there was very good at serving our table. Would definitely recommend.

The Museum Inn We discovered this beautiful pub in the small village of Farnham, Dorset and is a pub under Butcombe Inns. After being warmly welcomed by both staff and locals we settled in for food and drink. The ale is a splendid pint and very quaffable, which was followed by a gin and tonic (Fevertree tonics served, and my preference). The menu was great and we opted for the homemade hummus and flatbread, The best ever hummus I've tasted (even better than Greek restaurants) and savoured every morsel. I opted for 'specials board' of venison faggots (the last time I had these at another establishment they were extremely salty and I wasn't sure if this was the norm). These were to die for, flavoursome and rich without being over powering, with homemade mashed potate and veg. My partner had the fish stew (he's not into fish) and thoroughly enjoyed it, especially as it was bone-free. We met the manager Amanda who was wonderful. Very friendly and caring. Her member of staff, Julia is Polish who was attentive and kind (and can speak better English than most natives). During a break from mains to desert we had a wander. Bedrooms are available, a guests' lounge, separate breakfast room (sadly this part of the property could do with some new carpet / flooring as it was well worn and looked rather messy). Desert was spiced fruit sponged pudding with ice cream, light and very tasty (there's always room for dessert). We noted the menu was due to change soon and look forward to their next offerings. I would definately recommend coming here as this was THE best pub food I have had in a very long time, situated in a beautiful part of rural Dorset (I like to call it Dorsetshire as I think it gives it more credit), great ale, food and locals. What more can you want? (sadly the photos were taken on a camera phone and do the food justice)

We had a superb visit to The Museum yesterday to celebrate my husbands birthday.Tim and Amanda were absolutely fantastic hosts and we had a great time chatting to them. Our Labrador Nala was also so spoilt by them, they could not have made us more welcome. Visit this great inn.

Fabulous pub in a lovely village full of thatched cottages. The rooms are very well furnished and reasonably priced. The pub offers great food and a roaring log fire - perfect on a cold winters day. Service was friendly and welcoming

Really lovely room - spacious, warm & nicely decorated - recommend. Good bathroom. Great dining & service in the evening . I’ve eaten here several times over the years & it’s always good. One comment however - breakfast billed as 8-10am. Also told this on arrival & there’s a notice at breakfast room with these times. I needed breakfast at 8am but there was no one there & room was dark. Waited for 5 mins & a staff member arrived but was not kitchen - she apologised & said she was waiting for kitchen staff to come in . No one came so I had to leave with no breakfast. So fine if you don’t have an appointment !

Stayed for one night and got a warm welcome as soon as I walked in, felt right at home straight away. The room was clean, and had everything I needed. The restaurant was quiet but still felt cozy, especially with the open fire going. The food was great & the steak was full of flavor and cooked just right. Breakfast was included, and there was loads to choose from. Everything was cooked well. All in all, a great stay for the price. Would definitely go back!

Love the team and food here- don’t miss it. The menu and atmosphere are exactly what you’d hope for in a country pub and we can’t wait to come back.

We came for a family meal and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Amanda was lovely and really helpful calling me in the morning for orders as my preorder email hadn’t gone through. We will definitely be back!

A previous frequent and regular stop for us on our way West. Now returned after a few years since moving to Dorset. We love the location and the ambience hasn't changed at all. A hearty and friendly welcome by Tim, but entirely appropriate and not overfriendly. Excellent and a credit to the pub. Served by Shannon who was equally superb and dealt with our difficult friends very well indeed. We will definitely return soon, but on our own........... Thank you for an excellent lunch and superb service.

This was such a lovey visit on New Years Eve late afternoon. The service was exemplary by all and the food we ordered was delicious especially the lobster prawn linguine. We will certainly not leave it too long before our next visit. Five stars all round!

Our first visit to you. We very much enjoyed it. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. Will definitely be returning very soon.

Fabulous food! The Museum never disappoints.

Used to have a good good reputation for food but now been taken over by Butcombe Inns

This is my second stay and have to say it’s my favourite in the area. The staff are all very friendly, welcoming and helpful. The rooms are tastefully decorated, very clean and very comfortable beds. Room have tea and coffee facilities with home made biscuits and water included. The food is excellent! A great menu and wine list. The bar area has a lovely atmosphere with friendly locals. Breakfast is also excellent. Looking to book my next two visits already! Thanks for a great stay!