With an enviable position on Windermere, this Georgian hall has a relaxed country house feel, with formal and casual dining options, and bedrooms ranging from family friendly to seriously swanky.

With the arrival of Michelin-starred chef Hrishikesh Desai, this smart country house hotel in beautiful, leafy grounds has become a top foodie destination.

A whitewashed cottage on a steep woodland pass may seem an unlikely setting for Michelin-starred dining, but this restaurant-with-rooms charms both the eye and the palate.

Refreshingly different from some more traditional Lake District offerings, this contemporary hotel is in a beautiful setting overlooking Grasmere.

In a market town between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, this pub with rooms deftly mixes historic charm – beams, crackling fires and exposed stonework – with an updated, modern touch.

The humble setting of this former coaching inn, half a mile from the Scottish border, belies its chic bedrooms and creative cooking.

With smartly refurbished interiors and imaginative, locally sourced, restaurant-quality food, this dog-friendly country inn on the Lowther Estate is a happy mix of pub informality and country-house comforts.

Lakeland luxury at its finest comes courtesy of Gilpin, with its Michelin-starred dining, private hot tubs in the majority of its indulgent rooms and attentive staff. Its flagship rooms are extravagantly large glass-cube spa suites that extend over a pond and offer private garden, spa room and circular bath.

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.

With its towers and battlements this Victorian-folly castle, in 15 acres of grounds, looks imposing yet 'you actually feel like it is your castle'.

To find a gem in a quiet corner of the visitor-thronged Lake District is not easy, but this smart village inn in the lovely Lyth valley offers 'top-notch food', 'great service' and country-style bedrooms.

A Regency beauty with spectacular views from the balconies, this stylish, dog-friendly country house hotel has a relaxed vibe, beautifully designed bedrooms, and a fine-dining restaurant.

Above Windermere, this Edwardian country house lies in gardens that melt into the glorious landscape. The hotel is part of the Storrs Collection (see Storrs Hall).

Outside Grasmere's village centre, this period property boasts original Victorian features alongside boutique features in the bedrooms.

A 'sprawling, traditional building in a beautiful setting' at the tip of Windermere, this family and dog-friendly hotel has easy access to lake-based activities as well as a spa.

Cosy, low-ceilinged and fire-warmed, this smartly refurbished 17th-century pub in the centre of a Lake District village has walks from the door and is just a short stroll from the Michelin-starred restaurant at Askham Hall (see entry).

Many regard Borrowdale as the Lake District's most picturesque valley, and this comfortable Edwardian country house has one of its finest locations.

Step back in time to an age of quiet elegance at this 400-year-old manor house, run as a 'wonderful, charming B&B', with views over farmland to pretty Cartmel village and its Norman priory church.