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.

Amid rolling hills, where Shropshire nudges Herefordshire, Pippa and Willem Vlok's restaurant with rooms comprises a picturesque set piece of medieval and Georgian farm buildings.

Chef-proprietors Guy and Brittany Manning have brought skills honed at triple-Michelin-starred Per Se in Midtown Manhattan to this thatched gastropub on the edge of Salisbury Plain, with 'stupendous' food in the bar/restaurant and garden, and stylish guest bedrooms across the road, with decking from which to watch the ducks on the River Avon.

With smartl 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.

In the heart of the Gloucestershire countryside, this one-time Saxon hunting lodge, rebuilt over centuries and rich in Tudor detail, is an intimate B&B, with large and characterful bedrooms, welcoming hosts, and a Cordon Bleu dinner cooked by arrangement on Fridays and Saturdays.

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.

There is no isle here, no lake, no bee-loud glade – 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.

Historic features are seamlessly blended with contemporary styling at this riverside gastropub with indoor, outdoor and waterside dining, and a menu of pub classics alongside more inventive dishes.

'Hotel settings don't get much more spectacular than the Polurrian's, on the cliff edge overlooking its own beach,' writes a guide insider. The relaxed family and dog-friendly hotel makes the most of the coastal views.

There are mesmerising views of medieval Alnwick Castle from the Duchy of Northumberland's new hotel, occupying the Georgian Commissioner's house and former school, with further rooms in a modern extension, and 'top-notch' cooking in the restaurant.

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

If you're looking for affordable luxury, this Victorian mansion in parkland, remodelled in the style of a French château, has spacious bedrooms, opulent suites, and a choice of small-plates dining or a tasting menu.

Roses festoon this family and dog-friendly 17th-century pub with rooms, in a thriving village close to the RSPB's Snettisham Nature Reserve.

Life is attuned to nature at this country-house hotel in a Georgian mansion on a working estate. with walled garden, biodynamic farm, luxury spa, and two restaurants that celebrate seasonality and provenance.

On a square beside the Great Ouse in the ancient port town, this fine Georgian Grade II* listed former merchant’s house, once home to what would become Barclays, was debanked in 1869 and is today a buzzy hotel and brasserie.

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

Caroline and Jonathan Kaye are fun and welcoming hosts at their B&B, a Victorian gentleman's residence in walled garden, praised by many readers for its award-winning interiors, individually styled rooms and suites, delicious afternoon tea and great breakfasts.

Everything is peachy at this apricot-hued Georgian country house in the Vale of Belvoir, at the end of a long avenue of lime trees, transformed from a family home into a delightful, idiosyncratic and much-loved hotel.

There is a wide choice of generously equipped rooms at this substantial, dog friendly, family-friendly hotel on the edge of the Burghley Estate, with a pleasantly informal ambience and imaginative, seasonally inspired food served in the bistro.

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'.

A fourth venture for Justin and Charlotte Salisbury, this 16th-century beamed farmhouse-cum-local, a former haunt of Dylan Thomas's, has a range of highly individual rooms, mostly in outbuilding with outdoor seating, as well as larky modern art, upcycled, recycled and vintage furniture, a restaurant and bar serving pub food with a difference.

A beautifully proportioned Queen Anne-style mansion overlooking a duck pond, this much-loved traditional hotel has a new owner, but, after 48 years, Baba Hine remains, overseeing restaurant, bistro and well-equipped, spacious bedrooms.

From bread to truffles, they cook as much as possible on site in this 'very cosy and friendly hotel', in the rolling South Hams countryside between wild Dartmoor and the sandy beaches of Bigbury Bay.

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.

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

There is great food and serious fun to be had at this clifftop hotel on the South West Coast Path, its interiors filled with whimsical touches, its bedrooms all unique, its subtropical gardens a wonderland of witty sculptures.

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.

Reopened in 2024 after a £1.6 million refurbishment, this former coaching inn in a picture-perfect village is a pleasing mix of original beams, exposed stone and smart decor, with well-appointed rooms, a friendly atmosphere, and a restaurant serving pub classics alongside more inventive dishes.

It was nearly Howard's end in 2015 before two local families stepped in to restore the fortunes of this 'traditional village pub on the village green', which makes a great base for exploring the Cotswolds with its 'upmarket pub food, good service and excellent breakfasts'.