‘We enjoyed the waterside location,’ write trusted readers this year, drawn back for a third stay at Sam and Janet Bakose’s 350-year-old inn overlooking Pagham Harbour with its reserve of mudflats and salt marsh. A sister to The Halfway Bridge, Lodsworth (see entry), it has four bedrooms decorated in pastels and earthy hues, echoing the surroundings. A dual-aspect deluxe room was ‘spacious and comfortable’, with a ‘big bed, separate seating area’, a modern bathroom with a ‘powerful’ monsoon over-bath shower. The odd creaking floorboard might be heard from above. In the smart bar/dining room, with its mix of old and new decor, or alfresco in the sunshine, fish-lovers are ‘spoilt for choice’ by Clyde Hollett’s locally sourced dishes including whole lemon sole, Jersey Royals, samphire, brown-shrimp butter. Expect meaty options too, a veggie dish, sandwiches, salads. The manager, Mark Vincent, and his team provide ‘exceptional personal service’. After a ‘fine’ breakfast with ‘interesting cooked items’, perhaps visit Church Norton beach, where, 90 years ago, Eric Coates was moved to pen By the Sleepy Lagoon, which still today heralds Desert Island Discs. (Michael Gwinnell, PA)