Guests step straight into a ‘grand entrance hall’ at this B&B in a village in the Yorkshire Dales national park. Built in the 17th century and extended in the 19th, the house reputedly began as a 16th-century pele tower. A Guide stalwart arriving in the rain thought the facade ‘impressive’ but slightly austere, yet beyond the Tuscan porch all was exuberance. ‘Kind and dedicated owners’ Michael Pearson and Eric Culley have filled the interiors with antiques, ethnic art, paintings and curios – here a stag’s head, there ‘a delightful youthful portrait of Mendelssohn’. An imperial staircase sweeps up to four bedrooms, one with a four-poster, one with a half-tester bed, all with swags, drapes, art and artefacts, maybe a Buddha or carved tigers by an original fireplace, armchairs and sofas… Opulence continues in big en suite bathrooms, each with roll-top bath, three with a separate shower. At breakfast, perfectly cooked free-range eggs are from the resident hens. Beyond the Italianate gardens, woodland walks and a sculpture trail await discovery. All this and a wood-fired hot tub for outdoor bathing. For dinner you need look no further than the Traddock (see next entry). (RG)