A lovely, wisteria-swagged, 17th-century Bath stone inn, this is a gastropub with a wide choice of characterful rooms, a serious attitude to food, regular comedy nights and an irrepressible sense of fun.

In a hamlet just 25 minutes from Bath, 'the Carps' is a 'very nice country pub' offering 'very good' food, and oodles of atmosphere in the stone-walled, beamed bar, with fire and log-burner.

'So much more than a pub with rooms', the Three Daggers has its own farm shop, brewery and spa barn with outdoor hot tub and sauna.

The ancient stone-built Bath Arms in woodlands on the Longleat estate gets a big thumbs up from readers for its 'excellent, attentive and pleasant staff', 'appealing menus', real ales and great-value, well-decorated rooms.

'Gardez la Foi' reads the Poulett family motto over the door of this thatched 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.

A 'popular pub in a beautiful village', this 15th-century coaching inn with its old arched carriageway has been beautifully made over in casual-chic style. It was a second venture for Dan Brod and Charlie Luxton, with Matt Greenlees.

Thomas Hardy fans will be in their element at this local watering hole in Dorset, which was the model for 'The Sow and Acorn' in Tess of the d'Urbervilles.

A first foray into pub-keeping by the Pig group and just across the road from a full-grown Pig, this old stone village local has six stylish bedrooms under the eaves, cosy spaces for eating and drinking, and a menu of hearty, traditional pub fare with the odd more modern dish.

Rescued from closure by two local couples, this gastropub at the heart of a picturesque village has stylish bedrooms and cooking of a very high order.

Ideally situated beside Corsham Court at the heart of the village, this former coaching inn has smartly refurbished bedrooms, a friendly, casual ambience and a menu of pub classics and fancier dishes, using produce from the kitchen garden.

Serving cider since 1851, this honey-stone village pub has been attracting attention since a lockdown makeover by enthusiastic new owners. Contemporary-chic bedrooms have good fabrics, a Roberts radio, posh toiletries, views over gently rolling countryside.

You drive down a single-track road on the edge of Dartmoor National Park and cross a brook to reach this dog-friendly, very ancient, thatched and whitewashed village pub, redolent of history, serving excellent, locally sourced pub classics, with rustic-chic bedrooms and two resident ghosts.

Still very much a village local, with four simple, tasteful bedrooms, this atmospheric 19th-century beamed pub, serving staples and more exciting dishes, has been given a new lease of life by the Chickpea Group.

This traditional dog friendly, child friendly village local and dining pub, with four rooms above and five in a garden annexe, has received a new lease of life under new owner Tom Downing.

A former sports bar and one-time Berni Inn, this handsome pub has been splendidly renovated in Art Deco style for Young’s, recapturing its 1920s glory days, when it housed a cocktail bar.

On the Great Durnford Manor estate, where the great bustard has been reintroduced to Britain, this 19th-century boozer has been reinvented as a dining pub with locals bar, comfortable, contemporary rooms and a modern restaurant making exciting use of estate produce.

In a village close to Bath, one of England's oldest inns offers characterful rooms and above-average pub fare.

Rescued after languishing empty for seven years, this 18th-century part-thatched former tannery turned village ale house has been renovated in a style of rustic simplicity, with dog-friendly, unfussy bedrooms, a dining room serving a short menu of pub classics and more complex dishes, and a pleasant, leafy garden.

Part of the Daylesford Organic empire, this is a modern take on a traditional country inn – think open fires and lemon trees, craft ales and cocktails, pub classics and dishes with an Italian spin, and effortlessly stylish bedrooms.

Our inspectors enjoyed their stay at Alex Morbey's honeyed-stone gastropub with thoughtfully designed rooms and excellent cooking in the busy restaurant.

On the green of a village at the heart of the Somerset Levels, this stone-built 18th-century village inn has been updated as a stylish, contemporary drop-in bar and restaurant, with light, bright bedrooms and menus for traditionalists as well as more adventurers diners.

Striking modern artworks adorn the clubby interiors of this idealised rustic-chic dining pub and locals bar in a village on the Duchy of Somerset's estate, where each bedroom has its own style, and menus of sophisticated pub fare showcase locally grown, farmed and foraged ingredients.

Bags of character and a warm vibe are on offer at this pub with rooms on an organic farm in a pretty village on the Marlborough Downs.

Behind a historic, jettied black-and-white facade a stroll from the quay lies a drop-in café, bar and restaurant, and, up creaky old stairs, quaint, pet-friendly bedrooms, named after old sea dogs.