A drive through ‘miles of very narrow roads’ led trusted readers to this restaurant-with-rooms, deep in the Shropshire countryside. A ‘brilliant’ conversion of barns and farm buildings, it is laid out around parterre gardens. Willem and Pippa Vlok are the ‘hands-on’ owners. Each of the rustic bedrooms is unique: a superior ground-floor room, typically, was ‘sumptuous’, with stone-flagged floor, ‘medieval in feel but with all the comforts of a deluxe modern hotel, including a state-of-the-art bathroom. Everything is immaculate.’ Old stables now make for an inviting guest lounge, while ‘the dining room, with its Tudor decor, is spectacular’. Here, chef Nick Bennett’s menus shout of quality ingredients, from rose veal, miso, celeriac, cabbage, truffle, through mackerel, scallop, beetroot, horseradish, to rhubarb, sorrel, milk. ‘They have numerous awards for their wine list.’ The service is ‘prompt and effective’ from ‘superbly trained’ staff. A ‘totally delightful breakfast served by charming local ladies’ brought ‘the lightest, fluffiest’ scrambled eggs with excellent smoked salmon. (Ian and Francine Walsh, Patience Churcher)