‘There’s lots of room to play and run around’ at this ‘pretty, rambling manor house’ in ‘fantastic grounds’ on the edge of the Cotswolds.

‘There is much to like and laugh about’ at this utterly transformed Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, in a ‘glorious setting’ in the Otter valley.

‘The setting, ambience and gardens are possibly the most attractive of any hotel we’ve stayed in, anywhere,’ writes a Guide reader this year of the Turner family’s country hotel, in a 16th-century priory on the River Frome.

The Pear Tree at Purton closed down on January 2nd, 2018. It has had an entry in the Guide for many years. Anne Young, the owner, who has retired after more than 30 years helping customers, says: 'making happy memories for guests has been a pleasure.'

‘Comfort and homeliness’ draw guests to this 17th-century mellow-stone house in a tranquil, ‘totally unspoilt’ village in the valley of the River Nadder.

There’s no escaping the sweep of the sea at this ‘really super hotel’ above Falmouth Bay: a wraparound deck catches the sun; French doors in the restaurant open on to terraces; nearly all the bedrooms look across the water towards St Anthony’s lighthouse.

‘There are no flashy bits, just a friendly atmosphere and good, old-fashioned hospitality’ at Ann and Ian Dyer’s rural B&B on the family farm at the foot of the Quantock hills.

‘Bridlepath,’ cautions the sign, ‘no vehicular access.’ Press on regardless to reach Maureen Rowlatt’s arcadian B&B in gardens and woodland on the edge of Dartmoor.

Olga Polizzi’s countryside retreat, at its origin a Regency fishing lodge created for the Duchess of Bedford, is today an ‘unpretentious, wholly enjoyable’ hotel ‘decorated with charm and taste’.

‘A close approximation to perfection.’ Long-time fans praise John and Jane Bradley’s ‘peaceful, hugely enjoyable’ Edwardian hunting lodge, with ‘beautiful views’ towards the summit of Dunkery Beacon.

‘A special place’, Julie and Edward Christian’s B&B is in a ‘beautifully furnished’ 1930s house in secluded grounds overlooking Exmoor countryside.

At the end of a long driveway, this ‘magnificent, lovingly restored’ castellated mansion is now a grand country B&B surrounded by extensive grounds on the banks of the River Tamar.

‘The beautiful location, wonderful service and excellent food keep us coming back.’

‘As delightful as ever’, reports a trusted Guide correspondent in 2017, of Adam Fox-Edwards’s former coaching inn–turned–sporting hotel near Dartmoor.

‘We will return,’ vowed regular Guide correspondents after a stay at Chris Daly’s 18th-century manor at the heart of Dartmoor – and so they have, to find it, in 2017, as ‘friendly and laid-back’ as ever.