‘In a pretty south Cotswolds village', this is a ‘fun, relaxing place’. A Palladian mansion with Arts and Crafts refinements and an Italianate logia, it was recently made over for the Calcot Collection.

‘A lovely, family-friendly hotel,’ was Guide inspectors' verdict on this 16th-century stone manor house with spa in beautiful grounds, ‘looking out over rolling hills’.

Henry VIII gave the manor of Barnsley to each wife in turn – the old romantic! – before it passed to the Bourchier family, who built this Cotswold stone house in the 1690s.

Far-reaching views across sheep-spotted countryside spool away from this ‘splendid’ 300-year-old malthouse-turned-restaurant-with-rooms above the Evenlode valley.

A popular pub-with-rooms in a tiny, ‘beguiling’ village close to the Thames, The Plough’s warm welcome and foodie credentials are appreciated as much by locals (and their dogs) as by guests from farther afield.

The hub of a pretty Cotswolds village, this mellow-stoned pub-with-rooms (Calcot Hotels) is liked for its stylish rooms and relaxed nature.

A ‘delightful, friendly place’, this ‘extraordinarily good-value’ 17th-century mellow stone coaching inn has an authentic country air.

Close to Batsford Park, once home to the Mitfords, and its arboretum, this Cotswold-stone Georgian inn remains friendly and affordable after a seamless transition from private ownership to the Cirrus Inns group in 2016.

Ducks glide on a brook that bisects a village green, overlooked by a Cotswold stone pub, owned by Nicola and Archie Orr-Ewing, who also manage The Swan Inn at Swinbrook (see entry).

Quirky and sophisticated: Lana and Sebastian Snow twist expectations at their 18th-century Cotswold dining pub-with-rooms.

In cluster of Cotswold stone buildings, Chris York and Kate Lewis run their all-round inviting pub-with-rooms with great community spirit.