About an hour’s drive southwest of London in bucolic Surrey Hills is where you’ll find a quaint little town Godalming and the Hambledon’s Merry Harriers pub. Step over the threshold of the 17th century tavern and into a time warp of timbered beams, bulging walls, pints of real ale, Jazz Jams, Sunday roasts and village camaraderie. On the walls are inscribed the names of the pub’s landlords – dating all the way back to Absalon Bone who died in 1701.

Beyond the cozy clutch of guest houses, the pub has another endearing and exotic experience for their guests; llamas. That’s right those quirky furry animals that are at the ready for a day long llama trek, to blissfully to escape from frantic, frenetic digital life.

After travelling and trading the world, entrepreneur Peter de Savary (PdeS) has decided to pay tribute to the Great British pub. Once upon a time, PdeS owned Skibo Castle in Scotland, that was where Madonna married Guy Ritchie. But when PdeS sold up, he used some of the castle’s artwork and furniture for the rooms above the Merry Harriers’ bar. Landscapes and antiquarian maps, a miniature “Alice in Wonderland” door into Room 4 and views out across the Surrey Hills help the Merry Harriers pay peaceful homage to English village life and the inns at their heart.

David Totterdell, the chef, forages through the local countryside and sources from suppliers within a 15 mile radius, to raise traditional Pub Grub to a higher culinary plane. Top quality sourcing and skilled cooking create a menu including Steak and Stilton Pie, Steaks, Liver and Bacon that pulls in visitors from all points of the compass. Though the Fish and Chips probably travels further than 15 miles.

Long after Thomas Hardy’s Garbriel Oak hid away from the worst of the weather in his Shepherds Hut in “Far From the Madding Crowd”, stylish artisanal Shepherds Huts are back. If Gabriel had possessed a cosy hut with a fridge – housing a welcome bottle of chilled white wine – his relationship with Bathsheba Everdene may have progressed a little more quickly. So in vogue are Shepherds Huts that Prince George was given one as a first birthday present and David Cameron bought a Shepherds Hut for the writing of his memoirs in the garden.

The Merry Harriers has five Shepherds Huts clustered around an idyllic pond. Guests can relax on their sturdy reclining chairs, by their fire-pit, taking in the views beyond the pond. After all the Surrey Hills are designated an Area of Outstanding National Beauty. Resting four tons of crafted solidity on their cast-iron wheels, these huts are a far cry from Garbriel Oak’s humble abode: there’s underfloor heating, a woodburner, king size bed, coffeemaker, power-shower, wall mounted television and a welcoming bottle of wine chilled in the mini-fridge. Come night there is peace and views of the stars.

Views from the Shepherds Huts take in the Merry Harriers pack of llamas. The herd of nine llamas is lead by Mungo, whose haughty looks make it clear that he is the Alpha Male. Louis, now fifteen, and retired from trekking, willing takes on the role of elder statesman, giving visitors a friendly welcome. Soon the pack’s number may increase to 10 as there’s a theory that Toffee, as she’s both grumpy and hungry, is embarking on an 11 month gestation period.

Currently, Lorenzo is the youngest of the pack, and on a trekking apprenticeship getting used to the reins, before embarking on morning or afternoon explorations of the local countryside. As llamas are pack animals, there are usually at least two of them on a trek, with one carrying the picnic hamper for the human trekkers. Currently you won’t see Diesel on a trek, he’s the James Dean of llamas, going through something of an asocial phase.

With their cuddly easy-going nature (Diesel excepted), the llamas have a contagious air of relaxation about them. The only times on their day’s agenda are gorse, holly, thistles and stripping the bark from trees. Llama treks and Shepherds Huts are literary taking the Merry Harriers into new territory.

Every Sunday, Pde S, who has settled happily into the rural Surrey milieu, brings his family to the pub for lunch. When the time finally he comes, his name will proudly be painted onto those bulging plaster white walls. There can be few pub landlords who will have done as much to both preserve and develop the tradition of the Great British Pub.