Close to the northernmost of the Lakes, under Wythop Woods in the shadow of Skiddaw, this 300-year-old coaching inn, managed by Matthew Wylie, is ‘a very special place, say fans’.

‘In a lovely location in quiet countryside’, Christopher and Andrea Varley’s 400-year-old manor house stands in wooded grounds with views across the Vale of Cartmel.

‘Great hotel, great food,’ enthuse American readers in 2019, rating Gary and Donna MacRae’s ‘Lakeland gem’ as the ‘best hotel of our five-week European trip – and we stayed in some superb places’.

Bong, bong! It is dinner time at this ancient farmhouse-turned-hotel in grounds bordering Lake Ullswater, where the gong still summons guests to table.

Wherever you walk around here, you find yourself in the footsteps of Beatrix Potter, who spent family holidays at this country house, now run as a hotel by Richard Lee. Her farmhouse, Hill Top, is nearby. A newly opened path runs by Esthwaite Water to Hawkshead.

‘Nothing compares’ with the Cunliffes’ ‘really special’ country house hotel and its glamorous satellite, Lake House, with spa, half a mile away.

Guests can order a picnic before setting out from this Edwardian country house hotel, perhaps to follow a waymarked path ten miles around Derwentwater, or to climb to the top of Catbells for panoramic views.

'A very special place.’ ‘Utterly charming.’ 'It’s not the Ritz, but you will feel like a lord.’ Lavish and frequent praise in 2019 for Wendy and Simon Bennett’s Victorian fantasy castle in the Eden valley.

In ‘one of the prettiest villages in south Lakeland’, Richard Rose’s former 18th-century coaching inn is firmly on Cumbria’s culinary map.

‘Once we had found our way round the one-way streets of Kirkby Lonsdale, we were shown up to a lovely corner room overlooking an alleyway and the church.’ Praise this year from readers for Iain and Jenny Black’s 400-year-old inn in a market town between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales.

Hugged by wooded grounds, the peaceful atmosphere, broad views and walks from the doorstep draw guests back to this comfortable Lakeland hotel.

By the water’s edge, watching the tide race in at Robert Lyons and Lesley Wheeler’s pub-with-rooms is a thrilling sight.

‘Marvellous stay.’ The Read family’s ‘wonderfully old-fashioned’ hotel draws back regular guests for the ‘wonderful food and very friendly staff’.

'Glorious fell views’, ‘excellent food’ and ‘capable, obliging staff’ are found at this family-friendly spot on the lower slopes of Skiddaw.

Lesley Hornsby’s modern B&B in a tall Victorian house gazes across the Kent estuary to the Lakeland fells – and provides binoculars to take it all in.

In six acres of grounds and woodland, Sue and Peter Robinson’s ‘sympathetically restored’ Arts and Crafts stone house overlooks walkers’ paradise Brathay valley.

Ideally placed for exploring the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, Paul Spencer's laid-back inn sprawls comfortably on the road to Lupton.

‘Kevin and Nicki Winsland, with their daughters Charlotte and Bex, have created a hotel of great charm and warmth.’ Readers enthuse over a stay at this small Victorian country house with gardens running down to the River Rothay, in a village forever associated with Wordsworth.

'A really classic walkers' delight', the former 18th-century farmhouse and one-time miners' tavern continues its century-old tradition of providing accommodation for visitors and hikers, and the Downey family's inn now provides food too.

In the Lyth valley, Becky and Ash Dewar’s 16th-century hostelry is a village pub ‘with a modern twist’.

A cream tea on arrival and a hot tub in the grounds are among the pleasures that make Hazel Thompson’s B&B, in fans’ eyes, ‘the best in the Lakes’.

‘How wonderful it would be if many service areas (and indeed motorway hotels) could be like this one.’

‘Simply awesome,' writes a reader this year, about this 'fabulous' hotel on wooded slopes overlooking Grasmere.

‘This will become our stop-over of choice on the way to west Scotland.’ A full entry this year for Alison and Andi Sambrook's ‘small, unpretentious hotel’ opposite the green in a village bypassed by the A66.