With ‘open views’ across salt marsh and sea, this atmospheric 16th-century inn has rescued travellers from storms and hunger for over 500 years.

‘A lovely hotel with efficient, friendly staff,’ declares a trusted Guide reader this year after a third visit to the Nye family’s inn, which gazes across tidal salt marshes to Scolt Head Island and the open sea.

A creeper-covered, former 18th-century coaching inn, The Neptune has been run as a ‘most enjoyable restaurant-with-rooms’ since 2007 by Kevin and Jacki Mangeolles – and has held its Michelin star since 2009.

The wild Norfolk coast is minutes away from the rustic luxury of Pip and Jonathan Barber’s chic B&B in the countryside.

A stroll from the seafront, a bay-fronted house has been transformed by Jeanne Whittome, with a strong emphasis on customer care.

The wide sands and salt marshes of North Norfolk are within a flat, short-ish walk of Rebecca and Robert Bradley’s fine B&B.

‘We had a wonderful stay. It’s a fabulous pub in a gorgeous village, and just a couple of miles from the sea.’