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.

The River Rothay runs past the back garden of this small country-house hotel with attractive, individually styled bedrooms and good food.

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.

'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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Free-roaming ponies and donkeys wander past the garden gates of this Arts and Crafts-style single-storey house in the magical surroundings of the New Forest.

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.

With peacocks in the garden, kilt-wearing staff, fire-warmed sitting rooms and antiques at every turn, this 17th-century country house is an indulgent place to stay.

Birdwatchers and bon vivants beat a path to Tracy and Galton Blackiston's Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms in a flint farmhouse with Blakeney nature reserve on the doorstep.

More resort than hotel, this child-friendly, dog-friendly place of escape on the Farncombe estate, on a hill above Broadway, offers a wide choice of accommodation, from chic bedrooms to treehouses and shepherds' huts, with bar/lounges, fine-dining restaurant and a wide range of activities on site.

Banish images of fast-food outlets and slot machines when you break your journey at Tebay on wild and woolly Shap Fell, 60 miles from the Scottish border.

Olga Polizzi's beautifully styled Georgian fishing lodge, built for the Duke of Bedford and scandalous Duchess Georgiana, stands in a picturesque designed landscape with the River Tamar running through.

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.

Guests' happiness is paramount for host John Edward Joyce at his characterful, eclectically furnished country house with charming bedrooms and exquisite but unstuffy fine dining in the Mustard Seed restaurant.

Following a stunning redesign, this family-friendly, luxury New Forest hotel and spa continues to set the standard for country-house comfort, romance, fun and superb food.

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

Perfectly placed to enjoy a distillery tour or to follow the whisky trail, Sonia Marshall's Victorian house in the heart of Speyside stands in mature grounds on the edge of a swathe of the ancient Scots pine woodland that surrounds Grantown.

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

Within a Georgian house in a trendy corner of East London once home to Huguenot silk weavers, Peter McKay and Douglas Blain set out to weave a fantasy of their own.

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.

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.

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.

This Victorian gothic mansion might appear a little forbidding, but step inside and you are overwhelmed by a warm ambience and beautiful interiors, while some guests choose to sleep in the woods in a timber-lined 'hive' or treehouse.

Modern mixes with medieval on the ramparts of what remains of Nottingham Castle, with this sleek hotel the perfect place to escape the bustling city.

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.

Rescued from closure by two local couples, this gastropub at the heart of a picturesque village has stylish bedrooms and cooking of a very high order.

Bedrooms with outdoor space and kitchenette occupy converted outbuildings at this unusual, dog-friendly B&B set in gardens ten minutes from the beach. A cooked-to-order breakfast is served in the Victorian farmhouse dining room.