Brighton is rocking. The Festival is in full swing, the Fringe is everywhere and for added measure a lorry load of exciting bands are in town for The Great Escape.

The streets are thronged and the vibe is, as only a city can aspire to, incredible.

So why am I stuck in traffic, the windscreen wipers hypnotically battling the pouring rain, as we head for the west country and the blasted heath of Dartmoor?

It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Everyone needs a break from the roller coaster life of the city don’t they?

So a weekend stay at the Three Crowns Inn in the market town of Chagford on the edge of the moor seemed at the time to be a great idea.

Maybe follow in the footsteps of Conan Doyle searching out his terrifying hound of the Baskervilles amid the swirling mists and Gothic mansions.

Swig real ale in an inn by a fire watched over suspiciously by ruddy faced yokels and poachers.

Trouble is leaving Brighton is always easier in theory than practice especially if the escape involves ten mile tailbacks on the one-road-in, one-road-out nightmare that is travelling to that part of the world.

Almost five hours and a couple of wrong turns later we pull into Chagford. Things were about to take a turn for the better.

For what becomes immediately apparent is that Chagford is a pretty town despite its ugly name.

Built around a charming square it bustles with a sense of countryside purpose. There’s a reason this place was voted the best small rural town in a recent Sunday newspaper poll.

There’s lovely green grocery shops, artisan bakeries, cool tea rooms, an Aladdin’s Cave of a hardware store, great pubs and restaurants and a colony of arts and crafts people.

It’s clear that Chagford has benefited from a mix of long time locals keeping the rural tradition alive and incomers giving fresh impetus to the town. It is thriving.

We roll up to The Three Crowns and the staff could not be more welcoming helping to soothe the frowns away from our road weary faces. It’s a theme of the weekend at the inn, everyone goes out of their way to help.

The Three Crowns is run by family-run Cornish brewery St Austell. It’s just about everything you’d want when you head for the countryside. There’s no city-style and minimalist furniture here.

Stone walls, inglenook fireplaces and beamed ceilings are the order of the day in this newly-restored 13th century coaching inn. But it’s not overdone, no antler trophies and horse brasses on the wall, confining itself to an understated easy-on-the-eye relaxing vibe.

The 21 ensuite bedrooms continue the style, modern , airy and unfussy.

But it’s the restaurant that really surprises. You don’t always expect much from hotel restaurants, maybe slumming it for one night before heading out into town to find something a little more exciting.

But The Three Crowns has gone the extra mile, possible to compete with the town’s other eateries, and it shows.

A first night lobster thermidor was an exquisite blast from the past and a second (yes we didn’t flee) night’s mushroom and tarragon risotto with poached egg was a perfect taste explosion, the herby being allowed to cut through the earthiness of the fungi while the yoke sank satisfyingly into the rice.

After all that eating you need to walk off the calories somewhere and here the Crowns staff came good again.

Here’s my tip. Ask reception for their map of the circular two and a bit hour Teign Valley walk taking in the imposing bulk of Castle Drogo high on the hill.

Forget your townie prejudices about miles and miles of dreary moor this is a quite simply a breathtakingly magnificent walk giving you a bit of everything you could ask for.

A moderate climb takes you high up the valley side to give you incredible above-the-cloud views over the tree thronged landscape before a plunge down beneath that multi green hued canopy to Fingle Bridge (and its excellent pub by the river for half way refreshment) and then a return along the lush riverside track as the water gurgles and rushes through eddies and waterfalls right next to you.

It is a delicious palate-cleansing surprise that even made this traveller forget the artistic delights he’d left behind in Brighton.

Returning to the welcoming embrace of Chagford and its friendly pubs you can feel the stresses and strains of modern life ebbing away, a perfect bubble weekend.

Indeed as the twisting road takes us away on Sunday a feeling occurs that I never thought possible.

I’m sad to be heading back to Brighton.

Factfile

Midweek two-night deals at The Three Crowns, Chagford, including breakfast and dinner start at £229.

Rooms range from Luxury, Superior, Classic and Standard, Booking for weekends should be made in good time.

For more information ring 01647 433444 or threecrowns-chagford.co.uk