Adjacent to a road, a family-run hotel with spacious accommodation in a former 200-year-old former coaching house. All bedrooms have free Wi-Fi, a flat screen TV, I-pod dock/radio and tea- and coffee-making facilities; less mobile guests will appreciate one of the five ground-floor rooms. Satisfying breakfasts are served in the modern dining room, and a small residents’ bar stocks local bottled real ales, lagers, wines and spirits; pubs and restaurants are a short walk away. Limited (first come, first served) on-site parking is possible).

In the iconic Cube building, a contemporary hotel with terrific views over the city and canal network below. Higher up is the Marco Pierre White Steakhouse, Bar & Grill. Guests have complimentary use of the club and spa, which includes a pool, sauna and steam/hot rooms.

Inside a Georgian town house, an elegant bar, restaurant and hotel, overlooking the high street of a charming market town. Some of the ‘high’-dubbed bedrooms retain an antique fireplace and have an eye-catching feature wall. Evening menus in the modern restaurant include European dishes such as chicken and mushroom Stroganoff or king prawn and crayfish risotto. A wide choice of light bites, sharing boards, burgers is available at lunchtime; roasts on Sundays. An enclosed, sunny courtyard has tables, chairs and parasols. Six miles N-E of Swindon town centre.

Convenient for Silverstone, the hotel once served as a stopover for Victorian railway travellers; high speed trains still run along its front. The restaurant is popular for rib eye steaks and seasonal menus. Bedrooms are straightforward; breakfasts are tasty. Music and comedy events are regularly held. On the outskirts of Blisworth, 6 miles from Northampton,

Standing grandly over more recent housing development, this brick-built former manor house is two miles outside the town. The family-owned hotel includes a destination restaurant, a stylish bar, fireside sofas and intimate spaces for drinking and dining. Bright jewel colours run through to pleasing bedrooms.

Within its own lovely garden and grounds, an immaculate B&B in a Grade II listed house, where arriving guests are greeted with tempting tea-time treats. Part of a working farm, much of the food for breakfast (home-made granola, banana bread, jams and marmalade, fresh fruit salad, honey) comes from just a few steps away. A full English Wiltshire breakfast is cooked on the Aga. Supper trays may be pre-ordered; local pubs and restaurants are nearby. Cookery workshops are held. In a little hamlet, 2 miles from Swindon.