'In its glory, in the very beautiful Otter valley', this Elizabethan manor house is the fifth member of Robin Hutson’s Pig family.

Perfect peace reigns at this friendly hotel in at the end of a quarter-mile drive, in a densely wooded river valley at the western edge of Exmoor national park.

A ‘time capsule of ancient England’, Sue Burdge’s venerable former dwelling house has been the village pub and hub since 1837.

‘We did 14 miles over the moor today and are now pleasantly weary. It is a great place, very sad and wild,’ reads a letter – not from a Guide reader, but from Arthur Conan Doyle, said to have been inspired to write The Hound of the Baskervilles while staying at this 18th-century manor house.

‘To call it a hotel is to miss the point.’ In a peaceful valley, Richard Johnston’s quirky B&B is ‘a blend of rural escape and aristocratic eccentricity'.

‘It’s clear why so many guests return again and again.’ Huw Rees and Sam Prosser’s converted Georgian rectory, in large, well-maintained grounds, ‘is a haven of rural peace within easy reach of Exmoor and the sea’.

A trug of sparkling wine, organic home-made fudge, fresh fruit and flowers awaits guests at the ‘lovely’ Maureen Rowlatt’s rather special B&B by a stream, in a private valley on the edge of Dartmoor.

‘As superb and lovely as ever,’ Martyn Scarterfield and Petra Lampe’s Edwardian holiday cottage turned guest house is ‘a home-away-from-home’ for many devoted returning visitors.

Deep in the Taw valley, Jean-Pierre Mifsud’s wisteria-hung 18th-century manor house is a characterful ‘high standard’ hideaway, surrounded by orchards and woodlands.

A Regency cottage-orné, built by Jeffry Wyatville as a fishing lodge for Georgiana, Duchess of Bedford, is run today in characteristic relaxed-chic style by Olga Polizzi (see also Tresanton, St Mawes).

In the rolling South Hams countryside, Richard Hendey’s Georgian rectory turned small hotel is ‘a delightful place to stay, peaceful and friendly’. Interiors are smart and contemporary.

In an ‘absolutely beautiful position’ overlooking Start Bay, Rachel and Nigel Heath’s 19th-century village fisherman’s inn is ‘a relaxing place to stay’, writes a trusted reader this year.

In the former brew house, Bertie and Bryony Hancock’s sophisticated B&B is surrounded by the National Trust’s Buckland Abbey estate.

Michael Caines’s ‘beautifully restored’ Georgian manor house stands in parkland beside the luminous Exe estuary.

For 120 years the Grose family have looked after this family-friendly’ hotel approached by lanes ‘resplendent with wild flowers’.

The Far East meets the South West at Stuart Litster and Kevin Hooper’s inviting B&B in a South Hams coastal village.

A relaxed atmosphere wafts through this white-painted 17th-century inn overlooking Torridge, estuary where dogs and muddy boots are welcomed.

‘Full of surprises:, curiosities and vintage pieces burst through Fran and Pieter Hamman’s 19th-century manor house on the edge of Dartmoor national park.

‘No wonder Adam has such a loyal clientele,’ wrote a regular Guide reader after this year’s visit to the country sports hotel, a mere fly cast from Dartmoor.

In sub-tropical gardens with views over Lyme Bay, the D’Allen family’s hotel occupies a grand Georgian manor house, once home to John Callcott Horsley, designer of the first Christmas card.

It was all go at this whitewashed, 14th-century former cider house in Britain’s longest village, when a trusted reader arrived at 1 pm.

Restored and refurbished by its owner, Claire Carter, this ‘lovely’ country house has a ‘luxurious, contemporary’ style and ‘friendly, welcoming staff who really make the place’.

The tramway that once carried Dartmoor granite from the Stover Canal is no more, but this granite inn, built in 1820 along with quarry workers’ cottages, still thrives.