Marlfield House

George the peacock struts some of the 40-acre grounds of this rural Regency-style country house, run as a hotel (Relais & Châteaux) for more than four decades by the Bowe family. The interiors are a blend of elegance and comfort, with antiques, oil portraits, blazing fires, fresh flowers and the odd snoozing cat. Bedrooms have a marble bathroom, some a four-poster, a working fireplace, and a view of the lake. New this year are the Pond Suites, in a woodland setting, with a freestanding bath under a circular picture window, a walk-in shower, and patio doors to a private terrace. In the fine-dining Conservatory restaurant, the menu might include fillet of turbot with brown shrimp, with vegetables from the kitchen garden. Vegans have good choices here and at the more informal Duck Terrace, in converted courtyard buildings, with a log fire, café bar and glasshouse, and tables on a terrace overlooking the kitchen garden. After a breakfast featuring Duncannon smoked salmon, free-range eggs, or pancakes with bacon and maple syrup, you can set off and explore on one of the woodland walks.