‘As soon as we entered, we knew this was going to be special.’ Readers offered high praise in 2019 after visiting Amanda and Peter Jaques-Walker’s Victorian country house. ‘We thoroughly enjoyed our stay,’ report others. The owners, London escapees, are ‘charming, attentive’ hosts who run a ‘luxurious, eclectically furnished’ Dales property with interiors by a former Soho House architect. Prints, etchings and photos line the public rooms, while the ‘tranquil’, ‘well-appointed’ upstairs bedrooms have a ‘comfortable’ bed, and ‘good attention to little details’ from 100 Acres toiletries to the offer of fresh milk and mineral water. The best room, at the front, yields ‘never-ending’ green views to Howgill Fells. ‘Clever touches’ include individually adjustable bedside reading lights, the lounge’s original 1950s honesty bar, a sideboard laden with cakes including ‘delicious home-made banana and chocolate loaf’. New this year, Peter’s stone-baked sourdough pizzas: ‘the best we’ve ever tasted’. Morning brings an ‘excellent, locally sourced’ breakfast with ‘perfectly cooked’ dishes including scrambled eggs and spinach; waffles and streaky bacon. (Christina Voong, and others)