🐶- Dog-friendly | 🛌 10 Rooms | 🐑 5 Shepherd’s Huts | 🏆 Award-Winning | Tried & Tested
Brand NEW experiences to try: Girls Night Inn and Sup & Stay
Why we love it for a weekend
“Amongst the crackling fires, muddy wellies, and sleeping dogs, you’ll also find a big-hearted welcome, plenty to do and dapper rooms where dreams come extra sweet.”
Set in the peaceful Surrey village of Hambledon, where the main traffic seems to be clip-clopping horses, The Merry Harriers pub is a 16th-century red-brick inn filled with real ale, local gin, good food, and friendly chit-chat waiting under bulging oak beams. In a jiffy, you’ll be on first name terms with the staff and locals, sharing a tale or two as walkers and their muddy dogs come and go, fresh off the surrounding Surrey hills AONB.
Fortunately, this is not the sort of pub you have to leave in a hurry. You can stay overnight on a DB&B basis in one of the Merry Harrier’s cosy contemporary rooms (above the bar or in the garden) or one of the five shepherd huts, sat just across the road in a pond-side meadow. And whilst you’re staying, why not bolt-on one of the many experiences the pub offers? Llama trekking, gin tasting, e-biking and inner hygge finding are just a few of the stays that’ll help you plug in and recharge.
The Rooms | From £130pn
Above the bar there are four smart and stylish Inn Rooms – all doubles with en-suites, sleeping two between the ancient timbered walls. At the rear of the Merry Harriers pub, set privately away from the large terrace and beer garden behind a tall hedge, are the Garden Rooms. What was once a timber barn is now six double rooms with en-suites and a colourful countryside chic vibe. They all have garden views, but the best views are in Room Seven, which overlooks the llama paddock (and tends to be very popular with returning guests).
The pub’s five large Shepherd Huts are a welcome sight for those who want to feel a little more separate from the main Inn. Find them to the front of the pub in a pretty tree-filled meadow, beside a glassy pond with views to the horse-studded Surrey hills beyond.
With exceptionally handsome dark wood interiors and rainbow-coloured throws, cushions and curtains, the Shepherd Huts are cosy, quiet and very comfy. They’re also Tardis-like in proportion: two adults and a dog can stay happy inside all weekend. And there’s plenty of room in the powerful ensuite shower for you both, plus a muddy dog.
The Experiences | From £290
Llamas are one of the pub’s most famous long-term residents. Head to the back of the Inn and you’ll meet them: there are 12 in total and they’re all friendly, especially if you come with treats. We recommend the llama trek. It’s is a brilliantly fun way to spend a morning or afternoon, which you can either book separately or enjoy as part of the pub’s signature Llama Love Experience (includes a DB&B stay, plus a picnic on your trek).
As well as the wonderful llama experience, the Merry Harriers also offers six alternative overnight packages, complete with their own unique bells and whistles for a truly memorable mini break:
Hygge Holiday
Overnight Ginfluencer Experience (with the brilliant Village Spirit Collective)
Taste of Surrey
Romantic Hideaway
Surrey Staycation
Merry Bikation
The Essentials
- From £130pn
- Set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty amongst the Surrey Hills
- Serves a large selection of local ales, ciders and spirits
- Just an hour from London by train. Easy to reach from Reading, Chichester and Brighton.
- Dog-friendly, family friendly
- Serves heartening traditional fare with locally-sourced ingredients
- Large car park, free WIFI in all rooms and shepherd huts