The fun begins in the sculpture-studded subtropical garden at this dog-friendly clifftop hotel, and runs through everything, from the ambience to the decor.

Named in honour of Shrewsbury's famous son, this Grade II* listed Sandford House, moments from the Severn towpath, has evolved into a B&B full of Darwin references, with animal and plant wallpapers, maps and natural history objets.

This gastropub-with-rooms is set in a beguilingly pretty 17th-century Bath stone inn with mullioned windows and cascading wisteria, and lovely gardens outside.

An Edwardian homage to 17th-century style, this beautiful manor house with rich Jacobean-inspired interiors is run as a luxury hotel with fine-dining restaurant where you can enjoy a 'truly memorable meal'.

There is no isle here, no lake, no bee-loud glade, but the name of Richard and Janine Burton's lauded restaurant-with-rooms draws inspiration from WB Yeats's Innisfree, a place of serenity and escape.

In 'the most idyllic location', cascading down the cliffs at St Mawes with views to St Anthony's lighthouse, Olga Polizzi's seaside hotel continues to delight readers. Once home to a yacht club, it is spread across a cluster of houses.

Behind the solid exterior of an Edwardian park-side villa lies a Scandi-chic boutique hotel and popular drop-in restaurant.

'Our favourite hotel in the whole wide world,' writes a devotee of this seafront grande dame, run by the same family for 104 years.

You can paddleboard on the river, stroll to see the deer in Richmond Park, and feel a world away from central London at this smart, multifaceted Thames-side hotel.

Occupying a Georgian house and new annexe wings with private shorefront on Ullswater, this is an entirely child-friendly, dog-friendly 'lifestyle' hotel for those who love the great outdoors.

'Gardez la Foi' reads the Poulett family motto over the door of this thatched, ham-stone village pub, and the trio behind the Beckford group (see The Beckford Arms, Tisbury) have kept absolute faith with their winning concept here. The ambience is friendly and relaxed.

Country-house luxury abounds at this child-friendly, dog-friendly hotel, a Georgian mansion, its ‘well-maintained gardens a huge joy to visit’.

Modern mixes with medieval on the ramparts of what remains of Nottingham Castle, with this sleek hotel the perfect place to escape the bustling city.

For 40 years, Raymond Blanc has held two Michelin stars at this beautiful country-house hotel 'and it's not surprising – every mouthful of every meal is a triumph', say Guide insiders.

This beautifully proportioned Queen Anne-style mansion, in a hamlet between the Cotswolds and the Mendip hills, is as traditional as its owner, Baba Hine, who has been at the helm for more than 46 years.

A New Forest bolt-hole, this country house hotel has an easy glamour, romantic and family-friendly rooms, heart-warming Italian food and top-notch spa.

Away from the crowds but close to good walking in the Ribble valley, this traditional coaching inn, refurbished in style, is both friendly village local and foodie hotspot, with impressive and glamorous bedrooms, onsite microbrewery, fine-dining and tasting-menus in the restaurant, pub classics and light bites at lunch.

Leave the fuss and fret of the AI(M) at Scotch Corner to reconnect with the land at this idyllic hotel, centred on a Georgian coach house amid gardens, parkland and woodland.

They have all their ducks in a row at this wisteria-decked gastropub-with-rooms overlooking the green in a village where mallards glide on old abbey fishponds.

'In the middle of nowhere down narrow country lanes', John and Sue Cushing's Georgian manor house hotel sits among five acres of brimming gardens, a prolific source of fruit and vegetables, cut flowers and perennial joy.