In a Knights Templar village in the Eden valley, this personable small hotel ‘goes from strength to strength’, reports a Guide reader in 2017.

New brooms Jamie and Jenna Shail have refreshed this Georgian manor house since taking over in 2016, but traditional values have not been swept away.

Wooded hillside forms a pleasing backdrop to this ‘comfortable country hotel’ in an ‘optimal position’ for exploring the northern Lakes.

‘A quintessential country house hotel.’ The Quinion family’s creeper-covered manor house in mature grounds ‘combines the familiar features and decor of an earlier age with exceptional service’, writes a Guide reader, a frequent guest, in 2017.

Guests are assured of ‘friendliness and an outstanding welcome’ from second-generation owners Christopher and Andrea Varley at this ‘lovely hotel in the heart of quiet countryside’.

‘The valley in which this inn sits seems to me one of the loveliest places on earth; from the back of the inn, the views of fells, river and parkland landscape are just about perfect. And the stillness at night is magical.’

For more than a century, the Baldry family’s ancient farmhouse has stood in this remote, ‘very special setting’, where the ‘fantastic views’ reach over the garden and the sheep-dotted fields to the fells beyond.

‘Warm and friendly’, and ‘good value’ to boot, Louise Dinnes’s Victorian pub-with-rooms stands in a conservation village surrounded by a national parkland of windswept fells.

‘Peace and quiet’ surround Hazel Thompson’s Lake District B&B in the Vale of Lorton.

There are open fires here, and views of Skiddaw; the traditional chintz and prints are ‘part of the charm’, says a devotee in 2017.

‘Beautiful views’ of the Borrowdale valley and fells – and the ‘lovely walks’ to go with them – surround this ‘enjoyable hotel’ near Derwent Water.

‘It’s a home away from home,’ chorus fans in 2017 of the Bennett family’s ‘stunning, well-preserved’ 19th-century pile striking a pose in rambling grounds in the Eden valley.

‘Perfectly positioned’ on Whinlatter Pass, and with ‘stunning views’ towards Skiddaw from the curving conservatory restaurant, Kath and Liam Berney’s restaurant-with-rooms is surrounded by England’s only true mountain forest.

‘There’s a feeling of complete well-being about the place,’ write Guide readers in 2017 of the Dunning family’s hotel and upmarket farm shop just off the M6.

‘We know what to expect when we come: outstanding food, lovely staff, a restful stay,’ writes a returning guest this year at Glynis and Simon Wood’s family-run hotel in Cumbria’s most popular village.

Sue and Peter Robinson’s Arts and Crafts house stands on a crag in ancient woodland, the views tumbling down the Brathay valley.

‘Hands-on’ owners Rob van der Palen and Anton Renac run their ‘excellent hotel’ with ‘thoughtful attention’, friendliness, and more than a touch of Grasmere gingerbread.

In the Langdale valley, Mark and Ruth Jones’s country hotel is a family affair: daughter Aimee is the ‘charming’ manager; son Edward cooks ‘delicious’ modern European recipes in the restaurant.

‘We love the wonderful views and the air of tranquillity.’

There’s a ‘homely atmosphere’ and ‘a sense of cosy welcome’ at this unpretentious, gabled Edwardian country house overlooking Lake Windermere and Coniston Fells.

‘A lively spot’, this ‘friendly’ stone-built pub-with-rooms (Thwaites Inns of Character) sits in a rural village in the Ribble valley.

‘What a glorious setting.’ For more than 300 years, fell walkers and climbers have sought the views and comforts from this unpretentious, dog-friendly inn at the head of the Great Langdale valley.

‘Helpful, charming, welcoming staff’ make a stay at this ‘beautiful’ 19th-century stone-and-slate country house a ‘relaxing experience’.

‘Good beer’, ‘excellent food’, ‘nice bedrooms’ and a ‘relaxing ambience’ win admirers at Richard Rose’s ‘fantastic’ 300-year-old inn in the bucolic Lyth valley.