Overlooking the River Hodder in the Forest of Bowland, this sprawling 18th-century manor house is joyously traditional, with stone-flagged floors, open fires, bags of atmosphere and great food.

High on the cliff top above Chesil Beach, this is an effortlessly hip, relaxed, fun hotel with a Cape Cod vibe, light and airy bedrooms, a bar serving cocktails and seriously good cooking in the restaurant.

You could imagine you were staying in the cherished home of old and dear friends when you book into Walter and Nuala Sweeney's five-star B&B, a handsome Georgian house filled with antiques and artworks, carriage clocks, curios and crammed bookshelves, and with fine original features.

The propeller behind the chrome counter gives you an indication of what to expect in this quirky, buzzy bar and restaurant with rooms in one of Burnham Market's Georgian buildings. Bedrooms, in a residents' garden, are spacious, light, and carefully styled.

The Buchanan family's 16th-century coaching inn offers a warm Yorkshire mix of traditional pub, smart food and modern bedrooms with character. Overlooking the market square, it's a popular locals' spot both for the ales in the fire-warmed bar and snug and the accomplished cooking.

If you're looking for affordable luxury, this Victorian mansion in parkland, remodelled in the style of a French château, has spacious bedrooms, opulent suites, and a choice of small-plates dining or a tasting menu.

Rescued from closure by two local couples, this gastropub at the heart of a picturesque village has stylish bedrooms and cooking of a very high order.

The catch of the day could be Shetland hake in the restaurant or nifty fielding on the sands at this pub-with-rooms overlooking the Firth of Forth, with its own beach cricket team.

Olga Polizzi's beautifully styled Georgian fishing lodge, built for the Duke of Bedford and scandalous Duchess Georgiana, stands in a picturesque designed landscape with the River Tamar running through.

The River Rothay runs past the back garden of this small country-house hotel with attractive, individually styled bedrooms and good food.

Readers are unanimous in their praise of the welcoming, helpful staff at this family-friendly hotel at the top of the town, with lovely garden, light-filled restaurant, and glorious views over Lyme Bay.

If you're outward bound for France, this farmhouse B&B, just ten minutes from the port of Dover and Eurotunnel, is perfect for a stop-off – but you might not want to leave. 'This didn't feel like a hotel, it felt like a home,' writes one contented reader.

There is great food and serious fun to be had at this clifftop hotel on the South West Coast Path, its interiors filled with whimsical touches, its bedrooms all unique, its subtropical gardens a wonderland of witty sculptures.

Huddled below wooded hills, beside a stone bridge over the River Monnow, this whitewashed former 17th-century coaching inn serves delicious food and has great walks from the door to help you justify eating it.

Guests' happiness is paramount for host John Edward Joyce at his characterful, eclectically furnished country house with charming bedrooms and exquisite but unstuffy fine dining in the Mustard Seed restaurant.

With walks from the doorstep, views of Peak District hills, a peaceful garden, breakfast feasts and restful bedrooms, it's no surprise that Underleigh wins so much praise.

The gardens are the great glory of John and Sue Cushing's Georgian manor house deep in dairy country, with abundant home-grown produce featuring on menus, and light summer lunches served on the rose garden terrace.

In 'England's book town', under mighty Howgill Fells on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, this is just the place for a drover's platter and a pint – or Korean beef, shiso and sesame with a shot of wasabi vodka.

With its towers and battlements this Victorian-folly castle, in 15 acres of grounds, looks imposing yet 'you actually feel like it is your castle'.

On a square beside the Great Ouse in the ancient port town, this fine Georgian Grade II* listed former merchant’s house, once home to what would become Barclays, was debanked in 1869 and is today a buzzy hotel and brasserie.

Banish images of fast-food outlets and slot machines when you break your journey at Tebay on wild and woolly Shap Fell, 60 miles from the Scottish border.

With porte cochère, crenellated tower and fine Victorian interiors, this country house overlooking Loch Portree is redolent of the history of the Macdonald family, who have lived there for more than 200 years.

Beside the ferry landing, with views to Mull and Staffa, this family-run hotel and island social hub has smart, uncluttered bedrooms, and short menus of locally fished and farmed produce.

With beams, cottage-style bedrooms and beautiful gardens running down to the River Stour, this 16th-century Cotswold manor house in pretty South Warwickshire countryside not far from Stratford-upon-Avon makes a charming B&B.

Readers consistently praise this owner-run B&B with immaculate and generously supplied rooms in a single-storey building, beautifully maintained gardens with stream and wildlife pond, and, by arrangement, dinner cooked by caring and attentive hosts.

A beautifully proportioned Queen Anne-style mansion overlooking a duck pond, this much-loved traditional hotel has a new owner, but, after 48 years, Baba Hine remains, overseeing restaurant, bistro and well-equipped, spacious bedrooms.

Everything is peachy at this apricot-hued Georgian country house in the Vale of Belvoir, at the end of a long avenue of lime trees, transformed from a family home into a delightful, idiosyncratic and much-loved hotel.

'Hotel settings don't get much more spectacular than the Polurrian's, on the cliff edge overlooking its own beach,' writes a guide insider. The relaxed family and dog-friendly hotel makes the most of the coastal views.

A first foray into pub-keeping by the Pig group and just across the road from a full-grown Pig, this old stone village local has six stylish bedrooms under the eaves, cosy spaces for eating and drinking, and a menu of hearty, traditional pub fare with the odd more modern dish.