The Buchanan family's 16th-century coaching inn offers a warm Yorkshire mix of traditional pub, smart food and modern bedrooms with character. Overlooking the market square, it's a popular locals' spot both for the ales in the fire-warmed bar and snug and the accomplished cooking.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Agatha Christie memorabilia, murder-mystery weekends and Art Deco touches set the tone at Hugh and Emma Asher's creeper-clad hotel, former home of the author's doctor friends, in a bustling market town.

Big picture windows frame views of the Dart at this cool, contemporary hotel with a leisure vibe, uncluttered chic bedrooms, relaxed bistro dining in the riverside restaurant and alfresco.

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

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'.

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

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.

In the magical setting of Britain's highest mountain forest, with breathtaking views, this Michelin starred restaurant with rooms continues to build on its reputation for a warm welcome and fabulous food under new owners Beth and Jack Bond.

With a history stretching back to Norman times, Helen Heraty's beautiful hotel has spacious, antique-filled bedrooms, an oasis rear garden bounded by the city wall, stunning views of the Minister and a fine-dining restaurant.

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.

For more than 40 years, Raymond Blanc has held two Michelin stars at this beautiful country-house hotel 'and in our opinion, it's a travesty that he hasn't been awarded three', say Guide insiders.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

'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.

Named in honour of Shrewsbury's famous son, this Grade II* listed Sandford House, moments from the Severn towpath, has evolved into a B&B full of Darwin references, with animal and plant wallpapers, maps and natural history objets.

In the Debatable Lands, just south of the Scottish border, Gerald and Margo Smith's stylish, Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms scored very highly with a trusted Guide reader – and no debate about that!

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.

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.

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'.