‘Here’s a taste of Cotswold heritage: mullioned windows, beamed ceilings, flagstone floors, the sweet smell of wood smoke.’

‘An agreeable, solidly comfortable base for exploring the area’, Sam and Janet Bakose’s updated 18th-century inn sits off the A272 in the South Downs national park.

On the edge of Pagham Harbour nature reserve, this whitewashed restaurant-with-rooms is ‘a wonderfully tranquil, timeless, tucked-away sort of place’.

‘However you look at it, it’s truly a delight.’

‘What makes this 16th-century freehouse so special is the atmosphere: informal and friendly, yet 100% professional.’

Come in to log fires and local ales at this 18th-century coaching inn (Fuller’s Hotels and Inns) between the cathedral and the medieval college.

In leather and tweed, burnished wood and rustic plaid, Dominic Wood’s ‘lovely old pub’ is a ‘delightful, friendly place’.

Where an 18th-century pub once stood, this privately owned, rebuilt-from-the-ground-up roadside hotel today has understated rooms, a traditionally styled bar, and an ‘excellent restaurant’ headed by award-winning chef Michael Chapman.

As rural as its sister hotels are coolly urban, this thatched-roof farmhouse is now home to the newest of Justin and Charlotte Salisbury’s Artist Residences.

A jolly place, Karen Northcote’s ‘charming’ pub-with-rooms pleases with its ‘really delicious food’ and ‘welcoming staff’..

In ‘splendid Cotswold countryside’, this ‘informal inn’ by the sprightly River Windrush charms guests with its ‘heavenly setting’.

‘The wonderful setting alone – in a gorgeous village hidden on the banks of the Thames – makes this a desirable place to stay’, but visitors to the 17th-century inn discover much more to like.

‘The welcome is excellent’ at this revitalised 18th-century free house, on a quiet road running through a ‘peaceful Downland village full of birdsong’ – just ask the locals popping in for tea or a high-stakes round at the ‘jolly quiz night’.

Come for the pizzas, stay for the pause – in one of the bright, contemporary bedrooms at this refurbished honey-stone inn, eight miles from Oxford city centre.

A 19th-century resting place for the Household Cavalry as its soldiers made their way to Portsmouth, this 350-year-old inn remains a relaxing refuge for today’s travellers.

‘Bring any member of your family here and they would enjoy it.’

An ‘enjoyable’ pub-with-rooms, this16th-century hall house has been updated with stylish, unfussy bedrooms and a buzzy, village-hub feel.

‘Simply lovely.’ In the foothills of the South Downs, this white-painted, rustic-chic inn is firmly rooted in the countryside.

Near the Chichester canal towpath, Mariella and William Fleming’s village pub-with-rooms has been rejuvenated with a fresh Scandinavian vibe.

‘Always buzzy and friendly’, this pub-with-rooms in two ‘tastefully refurbished’ Regency town houses near the harbour is a good-natured place, liked by locals and visitors in equal measure.