In a Georgian country house said to have been built by the Duke of Wellington for his mistress, Claire and Nicholas Potts’s elegant B&B is run with ‘friendliness’ and a fair number of egg dishes at breakfast. Managers Miro Mikula and Kate Kowalczyk, ‘a delightful young couple’, ‘make guests feel welcome’. Newly refurbished public rooms are filled with antiques, paintings and original features. ‘Well-proportioned’ bedrooms (some snug) have a modern bathroom and individual period character. Choose a room with a carved four-poster bed and French doors leading to the garden, or one on the top floor, with views towards Beckford Tower and the Cotswold Way. Biscuits, coffee and a choice of teas are provided; fresh milk is available on request. In the morning, have an ‘excellent breakfast’ overlooking the pretty garden, ‘with surrounding hills forming the horizon’. Fresh fruit and glass jars of cereals are set on the large dresser; cooked dishes, including a daily special, are served on tables laid with crisp white linens. The city centre is a half-hour’s downhill walk away; alternatively, a regular bus service will take you there. (RG, and others)