Grassington House

Overlooking the cobbled square in one of the most attractive Dales villages, this smart restaurant-with-rooms combines chic bedrooms and creative food with a warm Yorkshire welcome. It’s hard to miss Sue and John Rudden’s handsome Georgian house, whose terrace is a perfect spot for post-walk pints or a spoiling afternoon tea. Inside, it is anything but traditional: a bistro-style dining room has bold contemporary lighting and shimmery colours, while bedrooms are luxuriously modern. Expect oversized headboards, velvet cushions; in larger rooms, perhaps a gold-painted French-style bed, chandelier and roll-top bath. Smaller rooms are cosy ‘but comfortable’, with ‘a very powerful shower’ and a view of the village square. All rooms have bathrobes, home-made biscuits and Sedbergh Soap toiletries. John’s creative food is as striking as the decor; dishes from this ‘very inventive chef’ might include Gloucester Old Spot pork belly with ham fritter and tarragon jus or duck breast with vanilla parsnip and rhubarb. Breakfast includes home-smoked salmon, and bacon and sausages from their own pigs. It is ‘so good that the memory lingers all day’.