The New Forest pub owned by Dire Straits' John Illsley

If you fancy a day out from Southampton that combines a proper pub lunch with a bit of rock history, the East End Arms is an easy shout. It sits in the quiet village of East End, on the southern edge of the New Forest National Park near Lymington and the Solent, and it has been owned since 1990 by John Illsley, the bass guitarist and co-founder of Dire Straits. He bought it to keep it going for the local community, and it has since become a spot that pulls in music fans, locals and visitors in equal measure.

Illsley is the real deal: born in Leicester in 1949, he was the only constant member alongside Mark Knopfler from the band's start in 1977 until it split in 1995. He has picked up BRIT, Grammy, Heritage and Ivor Novello awards along the way and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. He still plays the place himself now and then, and uses it to give local bands a look-out, so the music connection is more than just a line on the menu.

The food is the other half of the draw. Moray Cameron runs a seasonal, locally sourced menu that changes twice a day depending on what comes through the door, with braised ox cheeks in Guinness as the current favourite and John Dory and shrimp fishcakes nodding to the coast at nearby Lymington. Breakfast is served every morning, and the bar pours Ringwood Brewery house real ales, from the historic Hampshire brewery Peter Austin set up in 1978. The wine list comes from The Solent Cellar, an independent merchant serving Lymington and the Forest. One thing worth knowing before you go: the pub is cashless and only takes card.

And then there are the donkeys. The New Forest is famous for its free-roaming ponies, cows and pigs, but the donkeys are the ones that treat the East End Arms as a regular haunt, described as pretty much daily patrons. It is not uncommon to find them loitering outside while you eat.

If you want to make a night of it, there are five double rooms upstairs, each en-suite and individually styled with Oka furniture, Mulberry fabrics and Illsley's own paintings on the walls. There is a small set of stairs to reach them, and while there are no dog-friendly rooms, well-behaved dogs on a lead are welcome in the restaurant. The pub also takes bookings for events of up to 100 people, and its tent talks, with guest speakers in the heated garden marquee, have gone down well.

For a bit of planning, the bar opens at 11:30am Monday to Saturday and closes at 10pm or 10:30pm, with Sunday hours of 12pm to 9pm. The restaurant serves lunch from midday and dinner from 6pm Monday to Saturday, and Sunday lunch from midday to 4pm, with no dinner service on Sundays. Lymington is only three miles away, and Beaulieu, Buckler's Hard and Hurst Castle are all within easy reach for a full day out. It is a short drive from Southampton, so it works as well for a long lunch as it does for a proper night out.