EVERY Thursday I tip my puppy Barnaby into my ancient Mini, secure him into his special seat belt and head off to a dog-friendly pub and walk in the Cotswolds.

Each week I select a different pub and sometimes get it wrong, ending up in one which smells of rancid chip fat and stale beer, but not often. Most pubs surviving the recession are amazing.

Last week we visited The Angel Inn, in Burford, and enjoyed ourselves so much it’s worth spreading the news.

Although Terence King, who has run The Angel with his partner Gemma Finch for the past eight months, won Hook Norton Brewery’s Best New Licensee of the Year award, which he collected a couple of weeks ago, he’s no newcomer.

I first encountered Terence 10 years ago, reviewing the Mole, in Toot Baldon, where he worked alongside Gary Witchall, his wife Jen and the rest of the management who put this stylish pub on to the south Oxfordshire map.

Many years passed and then there he was behind a quite different bar at the newly refurbished prize-winning Feathered Nest, in Nether Westcote, near Stow-on-the-Wold, which overlooks the Evenlode Valley and is particularly dog-friendly. Food here arrives on rustic wooden platters and, like so many of the establishments Terence has been involved in, specialises in dishes cooked from local produce – Cotswold pasties being one of the most popular lunch specials.

Now you’ll find Terence behind the bar of The Angel, a 17th century Burford coaching inn, which he and Gemma have turned into a gloriously atmospheric pub in the centre of this thriving historic town.

As The Angel has a tranquil walled garden tucked away at the rear – a real suntrap – it’s particularly popular with visitors and locals, many of whom consider it a secret garden. This is where we decided to enjoy our lunch served with a glass of Hook Norton ale.

Regulars will not be happy about this praise, as they might like to keep it to themselves, but it deserves to be shared.

I’d been assured The Angel was dog-friendly. I travel with Barnaby, a seven-month-old “puppy in training”, who, I have to admit, is not yet as well-behaved as he should be, but Terence was the perfect host. At my request he served Barnaby a bowl of tea chilled with ice. While accepting this unusual order, he went on to say complying with customer wishes when possible is what hospitality is all about.

Serving quality produce with a chef’s exciting menu is important, and so is making customers feel welcome and comfortable, which is how we felt.

Terence describes the food cooked by his chef Andrew Frost as "relaxed fine dining". Andrew uses a range of local produce to create his dishes, some of which deviate slightly from the classical dish after which they are named.

Our visit coincided with the first warm May day, so I planned a dog-walk along the Windrush to Widford and back after lunch.

It proved a glorious walk right out of The Angel, along Witney Street for about half a mile to a stile with a dog entrance and the first of many lush green fields through this lovely landscape to Minster Lovell, Witney and eventually Newbridge and the Thames.

Perhaps I ought to add another award – “Best dog-friendly pub in Burford”?

The Angel Inn, Witney Street, Burford. Call 01993 822714 or see theangelatburford.co.uk