Amid 1,000 acres of historically important gardens, pleasure grounds and woodland, this romantic Elizabethan manor house, built by an ironmaster for his bride, forms an impressive backdrop for Michelin-starred cuisine.

With its bright yellow front door and rhubarb-pink sitting room, this Georgian town house with cottages, forge and Michelin-starred dining is 'classic and chic, a place exuding love and care'.

The River Rothay runs past the back garden of this small country house hotel with attractive individually styled bedrooms and a choice of dining options.

Overlooking the River Hodder in the Forest of Bowland, this sprawling 18th-century manor house is joyously traditional, with stone-flagged floors, open fires and bags of atmosphere.

This delightfully eccentric boutique B&B, a stroll from Torquay's seafront, has won numerous awards for its singular style and luxurious standards. Run with great warmth by Andy and Julian Banner-Price, it is known for its funky features, state-of-the-art touches and fastidious attention to detail.

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

A 'laid-back, fire-in-the hearth, village pub atmosphere' prevails at this charming thatched gastropub with riverside guesthouse on the edge of Salisbury Plain.

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.

A Georgian merchant's house and former bank on a square beside the mouth of the Great Ouse is today a stylish hotel, brasserie and popular local hang-out.

The fun, hip, relaxed ethos of this pub with exceptional-value rooms on the edge of the Fonthill Estate is evident from the minute you walk in the door. Guide insiders couldn't believe the buzz when they arrived at this 'comfy, characterful place' in the afternoon, long after lunch.

East Coast America meets South Coast England at this single-storey, coastal-chic hotel with interesting room choices, good, locally sourced food, and uncrowded sandy beach just over the spectacular dunes.

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.

A beacon of hospitality on a remote cliff-top between the English Channel and the rolling downs, this decommissioned 19th-century lighthouse found new purpose in 2010 as a unique B&B. It offers superb 360-degree views from the lantern room, taking in the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs and the South Downs. test

Anne Boleyn's childhood home, reimagined by William Waldorf Astor as a fairytale moated castle, the seat of a Tudor courtier, stands in landscaped grounds with an Edwardian 'Tudor' village, home to this exceptional B&B.

Leave the fuss and fret of the AI(M) at Scotch Corner to reconnect with the land at this idyllic hotel, centred on a Georgian coach house amid gardens, parkland and woodland.

Where Exmoor meets the Bristol Channel, this foodie retreat that oozes personality and style has 'very comfortable rooms with lovely sea views; the food is up there with many Michelin-starred restaurants'.

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

'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's a huge sense of fun at this stylish hotel, whose logo is Vanity Fair's caricature of the 9th Marquess of Queensberry, Oscar Wilde's Nemesis. Laurence and Helen Beere's hotel, a quirky combination of four townhouses has pugilism-themed jokes throughout; the decor is knockout too.

With walks from the doorstep, views of Peak District hills, a peaceful garden, breakfast feasts and restful bedrooms, it's no surprise that Underleigh wins so much praise.

The River Teign runs through the garden of this dog-friendly country house hotel with a wide choice of rooms, a warm and friendly ambience, good food, great walks from the door.

On the corner of a leafy Pimlico street, this handsome Georgian stuccoed gastropub is a popular neighbourhood drop-in, with four airy bedrooms, an open-plan ground-floor bar serving wood-fired pizzas, an atmospheric basement cocktail bar and first-floor restaurant.

The neon sign outside this former steward's house in a 1,000-acre deer park 'pretty much sets the tone for what to expect in this unique and interesting pub' which combines 'unusual, captivating artwork' with 'a real pub where locals come to play pool and chat', say inspectors.

The 'amazing views' over Bigbury-on-Sea's sands towards Burgh Island are what first impress about this former Edwardian holiday home, but guests also appreciate the 'wonderful welcome, comfortable, characterful bedrooms, and accomplished cooking' at The Henley.

You don't have to blow a fortune to stay at this relaxed yet refined hotel in some converted barns, the former home of Langham Glass, and featuring many charming nods to its heritage.

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

This beautifully proportioned Queen Anne-style mansion, in a hamlet between the Cotswolds and the Mendip hills, is as traditional as its owner, Baba Hine, who has been at the helm for more than 46 years.

This quintessential English country house with spa, pools, kids' club, elegant bedrooms and fun tree houses, hits all the right luxurious notes for a romantic or family stay.

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.