Among the best B&Bs , try Canon Grange , right on the Cathedral Green, its spacious rooms facing the west front (tel 01749/671800, canongrange@email.com ; A?40-50), or Bekynton House , a little farther out at 7 St Thomas St (tel 01749/672222; A?40-50), where en-suite rooms nudge into the next category. The town also has some nice old coaching inns, notably the Crown Hotel , Market Place (tel 01749/673457; A?90-110), where William Penn was arrested in 1695 for illegal preaching, and the Swan , further down the High Street (tel 01749/836300; A?90-110).

For food , head for Chapel's in Union Street (off High Street), a modern cafA©-bar with a varied menu, or the Italian-run Ancient Gate House , Sadler Street (tel 01749/672029); on the same street, Ritcher's (tel 01749/679085) combines a downstairs bar/patisserie with a restaurant in a plant-filled loft offering set-price menus. Excellent wholefood is served at the Good Earth on Priory Road, near the bus station (tel 01749/678600; closed Sun), and you can eat inexpensive meals as well as pub fare at the City Arms on Cuthbert Street, formerly the city jail.