In a delightful village, this 16th-century village pub, now part of the Avington Park estate with its trout fishery and leisure facilities, impresses with four beautifully presented bedrooms and some very creative dishes alongside pub grub done very well.

Free-roaming ponies and donkeys wander past the garden gates of this Arts and Crafts-style single-storey house in the magical surroundings of the New Forest.

Historic features are seamlessly blended with contemporary styling at this riverside gastropub with indoor, outdoor and waterside dining, and a menu of pub classics alongside more inventive dishes.

A family and dog-friendly 18th-century inn with riverside gardens in the Vale of the White Horse, this is now part of Butcombe Boutique Hotels, which has refurbished the six bedrooms with botanical and Arts and Crafts wallpapers, king-size beds, vintage pieces and Bramley toiletries. Menus mix sharing plates, pub favourites and some more adventurous dishes.

In rose-filled gardens approached by a bridge across a stream, the Wild family's hotel, converted from three 17th-century cottages a stroll from its own quayside, has well-equipped, country-classic bedrooms, and both formal and informal dining in restaurant and brasserie.

Pigs have foraged in the New Forest since the Norman Conquest, but a different breed arrived in 2011, when Robin Hutson took on a Georgian hunting lodge and reinvented the English country-house hotel, with a shabby-chic style mixing designer wallpapers and boot-sale finds in characterful house rooms and hideaway suites. Seasonal menus feature produce from the bountiful kitchen garden.

With the emphasis on laid-back luxury, this Regency mansion in parkland, once home to Percy Shelley's mother, is today a country-house hotel that is part of the Signet Collection, offering surprisingly affordable bedrooms, a swish spa, a brasserie and pan-Asian restaurant.

Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin and Elizabeth Taylor were among notable guests entertained by press baron Lord Beaverbrook at this glamorous Victorian mansion overlooking Italianate gardens, now an opulent spa hotel and treasure trove of memorabilia, with a tempting range of dining options.

Crammed with ceramics, clocks, chinoiserie, religious art, fire screens and antimacassars, this 19th-century villa B&B is a homage to the Victorian Aesthetic movement. Breakfast includes eggs from the hens, honey from the hives and fruit from the walled garden.

Close to Canterbury, this family-friendly village gastropub has four stylish bedrooms, informal dining inside and out, and imaginative menus of locally sourced produce.

Behind an imposing portico, this late-Georgian coaching inn has received a bold modern makeover, with jazzy, individually styled bedrooms, while modern dishes, classics, and wood-fired pizzas are served in the Market Room restaurant, 1822 Bar and on the terrace.