When I think of Lord Nelson I think first of food and how he didn’t get what he hoped for on a visit to Blenheim Palace.

Hotfoot from being granted the Freedom of Oxford, the hero of Trafalgar headed eagerly for Woodstock and the glories of John Vanbrugh’s great mansion.

Alas, he wasn’t to see them, for with mistress Lady Hamilton in his company he found the palace doors closed against him by a censorious Duke of Marlborough. A cold collation was sent out into the park.

Outdoor eating in an elegant garden was the thing during the glorious weather of last weekend at the splendid pub named for him in the lovely South Oxfordshire village of Brightwell Baldwin.

What a difference a week makes! The Friday before, Rosemarie and I had been there – guests of our old friends Gerald and Clico Kingsbury – and revelling in all things wintery.

This consisted in sitting at a candlelit table among sumptuous décor beside a roaring log fire and eating robust top-class nosh – in my case a glorious comfort food dish of rabbit casserole.

Another local bunny bites the dust! – as one did for me recently at The Kitchen in Farnborough. Don’t say I’m not doing my bit in the necessary cull of the species.

Before more on food, a bit of background.

The Nelson (until recently the Lord Nelson) is a gem of a place, part medieval, with most of the building 18th century. Long an inn, it had an interlude as a private house from the early 1900s till 1971, when it resumed public refreshment.

For the past 16 years it has been owned by Roger and Carole Shippey. Also involved in the business are their daughters Emma Harvey and Amanda Eades, Emma’s two sons Jamie and Albert and daughter Molly. Nelson the dog sometimes lends a paw.

There are various offers through the week, including 25 per cent off steaks on Wednesday, fish dishes on Thursday and champagne and other fizz on Friday.

Since we were there on a Friday, our generous host Gerald insisted we enjoy champagne. This was yeasty Gremillet, from the Aube Valley. It made a happy start to the evening, as we studied the menu.

Besides those ordered, the selection included starters of baked Camembert (for two), pan-fried pigeon breast and duck liver parfait. There were mains of beer battered filet of haddock, creamy risotto with leeks, kale and parmesan, and (Fawltyesque) roast duck with orange sauce.

Puds included peach Melba pavlova and tipsy bread and butter pudding.

To kick off, I went for the tempura king prawns, which proved a great choice, There were four of them, real whoppers, served with a chilli dippng sauce.

Rosemarie had one of the blackboard specials, smoked salmon and prawns (peeled), which seemed expensive at £9.50. It was nicely presented, though, as was Gerald’s plate of pan-fried scallops – three, complete with coral – with chorizo and shallots.

Clico loved her twice-baked mature cheddar soufflé on wilted spinach, but was less enthusiastic about her main course of lemon sole with chips and salad. (The picture she sent me was captioned “uninteresting fish”.). Perhaps she would have fared better with the other fish special, swordfish.

Rosemarie was very happy with her smoked haddock with mustard sauce on colcannon mash. She thought the poached egg on top was overcooked, ie not runny.

My bunny casserole featured plenty of tender meat, some of it on the bone, in a rich gravy with lots of carrots. The mash was creamy without being of annoying baby food smoothness.

Had I opted for any other meat dish, it would have been Gerald’s juicy rack of lamb, with rosemary and red wine sauce, carrots and spring greens. It looked great..

Traditional vanilla creme brulee (Clico – delighted) and banana crepe with ice cream and toffee sauce (Rosemarie – ditto) completed this excellent meal.

Rosemarie and I liked the place so much we were back four days later for the £14.95 two-course set lunch. We shall be there again for lunch on Saturday. They’ll soon be sick of the sight of us.