Occupying 15th-century weavers’ cottages subsumed by an 18th-century inn on the aptly named Sheep Street, this is the kind of traditional, inclusive, tea-by-the-fire sort of place that sits so well in a historic market town.

Nick and Charlotte Dent have had a field day converting a Georgian stone farmhouse and outbuildings in 11 acres into a dog-friendly, fun hotel brimming with character and ‘so many appealing, endlessly inventive features’.

With its medieval frontage, creaky-floor interiors and smart conservatory brasserie, The Broadway, named after its picturesque Cotswold location, is popular with both visitors and locals.

When you step into this olde-worlde, thatched Cotswold village farmhouse-turned-pub, prepare to do a double take when you see the offbeat interior.

Forged from a row of 17th-century houses, this prettily refurbished hotel is a charming mix of flagstone floors, ancient beams and ‘immaculate’ modern bedrooms.

Here is a setting that elicits admiring exclamation: green creepers climbing up old stone, this stylishly updated 17th-century coaching inn stands on the banks of the River Coln, in a village William Morris described as the most beautiful in England.

One of the oldest buildings in a village of thatched houses, this 600-year-old inn stands steps away from the willows leaning over the River Windrush.

Beyond the sturdy oak door of this handsome 17th-century stone dwelling, Jeremy Mogford’s country-house-in-the-city hotel has a more bookish, bohemian, clubby feel than its sister enterprise.

Oxford alumni get a discount on rooms from Sunday to Thursday at Jeremy Mogford’s smart hotel on the ‘High’, opposite the university church of St Mary’s and the Bodleian Library.

Even hardened townies are seduced by the surrounds of 17th-century Barnsley House, created by visionary gardener Elizabeth Verey who moved here in the 1950s.

Ducks bob on the brook that runs through the green in front of this 16th-century cider house with all the trappings of the perfect English country pub – beams, flagstones, settles, blazing fires, Hook Norton ale on draught.

The collection of honeyed buildings on Caryn Hibbert's restored Cotswold manor and farm are home to chic bedrooms, a cookery school, pub and spa, interspersed with quintessential English gardens.

Creepers climb up the front of this mellow stone 17th-century coaching inn, a short stroll from the River Windrush.

In a historic wool town, the classic Cotswold-stone exterior of this 17th-century inn gives way to a cool, contemporary interior that mixes wooden beams and ancient floorboards with cocktails, Scandi-chic furnishings and a family-friendly feel.