Standing in flower-filled gardens on the edge of the North York Moors national park, Phillip Gill and Anton van der Horst’s ‘tranquil, immaculate’ B&B ‘remains excellent’, say returning guests this year. The hosts’ ‘great kindness’ has won them many fans, who come to be ‘greeted as old friends’. ‘In 15 years of annual visits, we’ve never been disappointed.’ Sit by the fire in the drawing room for afternoon tea with home-baked cakes; in the evening, tables are set for Phillip Gill’s ‘imaginative, delicious’ four-course dinner, cooked using produce in season. Typical dishes: local asparagus; duck breasts, braised endives, marsala. Upstairs, the traditionally styled bedrooms are ‘spacious and thoughtfully equipped’. ‘All three rooms are equally delightful: comfortable beds, charming decoration, superb views across the Howardian hills. (What more can you ask for?)’ At breakfast, there’s freshly squeezed orange juice, local sausages and dry-cured bacon, Whitby kippers and home-made preserves. Rambles in the North Yorkshire countryside await; gardens and abbey ruins are within easy reach; John Vanbrugh’s Castle Howard is a short drive away. (Richard Creed, AW)