‘We were looking forward to our stay,’ write Guide insiders, on returning to this classical Georgian mansion in ‘wonderful grounds’, rescued from ruin in the 1990s by Don and Wendy Matheson. It did not disappoint. Indeed, its interiors have recently received a facelift. A basement bedroom sported ‘a lovely old sideboard, chairs and round table’. An anteroom had a stone floor, glass ceiling, stairs to the garden. Other rooms have views over lake, woodlands and formal gardens, perhaps an antique four-poster or a half-tester bed. Log fires burn in lounges hung with Scottish art. At dinner, new chef Craig Munro offers a choice of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes using local, home-grown and foraged ingredients. Perhaps halibut, salmon tortellini, sweetcorn, pepper foam; chickpea chilli, cucumber, pickles. One reader, however, felt his wine complaint could have been handled with more grace. Breakfast brings organic duck and hens’ eggs, smoked locally caught salmon, woodland mushrooms, home-made jams, honey from the hives. A new café with wood-fired oven serves garden-to-plate fare in the Victorian walled garden. (JT-P, and others)