Michelle Tompkins earns her famous fish and chip lunch

Bakers Arms Badbury, nr Swindon SN4 0EU

Tel: 01793 740313

Food served:12-2.30pm and 6-9pm Monday to Friday, all day Saturday 12-9pm, Sunday lunch 12-4pm T

HERE’S one hell of a hill leading up to the Bakers Arms at Badbury, and as I dropped into the lowest gear on my bike ride to the summit, it was only the promise of fish and chips at the top that kept me going.

With legs like jelly, we staggered into the cosy country pub to be greeted with a knowing smile. “It’s not easy, is it?,” said the friendly barmaid, no doubt guessing from our sweaty faces that we’d arrived on two wheels. “What can I get you?”

A fire was blazing in the middle of the room, but it was a long while before we cooled down enough to go anywhere near it. Instead, I sipped – okay, gulped – my pint of cold cider and studied the menu, although I’d already decided days in advance what I was going to have.

The Bakers Arms is renowned locally for its fish and chips. Celebrity chef Brian Turner recently named them “the best fish and chips in the south”, and around 80 per cent of people who eat in the pub choose the dish, not to mention the many more who stop off for a takeaway.

With accolades like that, what else could I possibly pick? Fish and chips it was, with homemade mushy peas and tartar sauce no less.

After my earlier exertion I was all set to choose the large option (£9.50), but the barmaid took my order, adding: “That’s a small one, right?” (£6.50) and it seemed greedy to say otherwise.

She was right, of course – the 8oz-10oz fillet (large is 12oz-14oz) was the ideal size. Any more and I’d have had to leave some, and what a crying shame that would have been.

Everything about the dish was perfection; the pure white fish flaked with the weight of my fork, while the crisp batter crunched and then melted in the mouth. The chips were homemade; the chunky kind with the fluffy insides. And the mushy peas were, well, beautifully mushed.

There is nothing I can complain about or would have changed – every mouthful was divine and my only disappointment was when it came to an end.

My partner is not a big fish lover, so opted for a burger, but even he looked envious when he saw my plate. His Mac Baker Burger (£9.95) was a homemade 100 per cent beef burger, with a layer of cheese and topped with a fried egg. With chips and salad alongside, it was a substantial, tasty meal, but he later admitted he would rather have had mine.

There is masses of choice at The Bakers, with basics like ham, egg and chips (£8.95), lasagne (£8.95) and a ploughman’s (£7.95) on the house menu, alongside a la carte dishes such as belly of pork in a brandy sauce (£13.95) and cod and salmon roulade (£14.95).

But of the dozen or so people who dined alongside us that lunchtime, every single one went for the fish and chips. Some were even brave enough to take on the supersize option – how they ate it, I’ll never know.

I’m certain of one thing, though. It was fantastic rocket fuel for getting me back down the hill and home.

That, and the pint and a half of cider I washed it down with. Wheeeeeee!