Gliffaes

There are sublime views from this eccentric Victorian country house with Italianate campaniles and 20th-century porte cochère, in wooded grounds overlooking the River Usk. Built for a Revd West and his father, who planted the arboretum, it has been in the same family since 1948 and is today owned by Susie and James Suter. ‘We love it,’ wrote readers who relish the old-fashioned look and hospitality, the comfy lounges with ‘an array of magazines and papers’, the ‘shoe cleaner on the landing’, the ‘professional housekeeping’. Bedrooms, with spring water on tap, range from cosy to two large river-view rooms with French doors to a wisteria-festooned balcony. One room has an antique four-poster with embroidered canopy. Chef Karl Cheetham works with local produce, fruit, herbs – and nettles – from the garden, to create short menus of dishes such as venison with pancetta, orange bread-and-butter pudding, smoked chestnuts, blackberry jus. Unusual breakfast dishes include twice-baked Welsh Cheddar soufflé, vegan tofu scramble, kippers with laver bread, and pork-and-leek sausages to set you up for a day’s fly-fishing. (FK)