‘The valley in which this inn sits seems to me one of the loveliest places on earth; from the back of the inn, the views of fells, river and parkland landscape are just about perfect. And the stillness at night is magical.’ A Guide reader on a repeat visit this year was again charmed by Charles Bowman’s characterful inn in the Forest of Bowland. The ‘bustling’ bar and restaurant have ‘a good atmosphere and, in winter, plenty of open fires to keep it cosy’. Habitués come for Jamie Cadman’s ‘superb cooking’, which uses ‘abundant’ local produce – roast rack of Burholme Lonk lamb, perhaps. A separate menu is served in the bar: ‘The famous fish pie is as delicious as ever,’ says one reader (though another found a portion short on fish – the one that got away!). The ‘eccentric, individual’ bedrooms, many with an open fire, are ‘a treat’. Take your pick: they’re ‘studded with antique furniture’ such as a vast four-poster bed or a Victorian cabinet bath ‘nearly big enough to swim in’. ‘Breakfast, with jugs of freshly squeezed orange juice, is almost impossible to fault’ (‘but we wish they’d serve it till later’). (Mike Craddock, Lynn Wildgoose)