Stone eagles mark your arrival at the gates of Nick and Charlotte Dent’s ‘impressive’ Victorian hunting lodge, down a single-track road, its lawns lapped by Loch Gairloch.

‘A wonderful experience.’ Back in the Guide after rave reviews, this handsome 17th-century mansion gazes across Beauly Firth.

A ‘little jewel’ in a secluded setting, this small baronial mansion is enveloped by sweeping manicured lawns within acres of woodland.

One of Scotland’s first country house hotels, the turreted 1920s mansion in tranquil, ‘elegant gardens’ is owned by Mark and Christopher Forrester, grandsons of two of the original founders.

‘Scottish country house living on a grand scale.’ Near the mainland’s northern tip, this Georgian mansion is surrounded by woodland and waterfall on the Forss river, a fishing hot spot.

Luxe details such as a copper roll top bath, add to the romance of The Dunstane Houses, a luxurious get away in Edinburgh where beautiful details are accompanied by exceptional service - ideal for mini breaks, minimoons or a Valentine's Day retreat.

‘A very special place,’ say guests in 2019, of Sian and David Ibbotson’s Victorian hunting lodge overlooking the Irish Sea. ‘The accommodating hosts went out of their way, more than once, to ensure we had a terrific time.’

‘Excellent food’ and a ‘lovely’ welcome await visitors to Tim and Patricia Martin and Neil King’s former manse overlooking the Maldivian-blue seas and sugar-white sands of a bite-shaped cove.

‘The welcome was superb, the setting magical, the staff were friendly and helpful,’ writes a reader in 2019, of Lord and Lady Macdonald’s former hunting lodge on the shores of Loch Na Dal.

‘Dr Johnson and Mr James Boswell dine here tomorrow – which they did and I gave Mr Johnson rhubarb seeds and some melon.’ Here is Sir Alexander Dick, Laird of Prestonfield, writing of visitors to his 17th-century mansion at the foot of Arthur’s Seat.

Lang may the lums reek at this remote restaurant-with-rooms on the shores of Loch Dunvegan. After 34 years, Shirley and Eddie Spear have moved on, but all is well.

Beyond ‘splendid wrought iron gates’, a ‘beautifully wooded half-mile drive’ leads to Paul and Poppy Szkiler’s towered and turreted Victorian pile, with a fountain ‘dominating the forecourt’.

‘The very-much-in-evidence hosts, Scott and Stephanie Meikle, have transformed this remote property into a “restaurant-with-(very-well-equipped-and-designed-)rooms”.’

'Stunning hotel, stunning views.’ A reader this year endorses John and Sylvia Matthews’s restaurant-with-rooms in an Edwardian manor house overlooking the Tweed valley

For over 30 years, the Harrison family has greeted visitors to their former 18th-century fishing lodge with ‘genuine warmth and interest’.

‘A real centre of hospitality.’ Trusted Guide readers visiting Struan and Louise Lothian’s small hotel were impressed this year by the ‘attentive but never intrusive service, and superb meals’.

‘In a superb position overlooking Badcall Bay’, this 18th-century church manse-turned-hotel gains a full entry at the urging of readers and a Guide inspector.

By the gates of Edinburgh Castle, James Thomson’s spellbinding restaurant-with-suites is sited within enthralling 16th- and 17th-century buildings.

The buzzy hub of this Inner Hebridean island, the hotel (run by the Oliphant family for three generations) offers sublime sea views from Coll’s only village.

Light, bright and full of life, Sean and Karen O’Byrne’s super-modern, eco-friendly house is all Scandi style and floor-to-ceiling windows offering memorable views of Loch Creran.

Two miles from the harbour of a tiny Skye fishing village, a single-track road leads to Clare and Ian Winskill’s peaceful restaurant-with-rooms; guests are offered a glass of Prosecco on arrival.

Overlooking the beautiful harbour town, an Edwardian country house in landscaped gardens with a sleekly modern interior.

All is shipshape on this plush former Northern Lighthouse supply ship, floating moments away from buzzy Leith.

Stunning gardens and outstanding views of the River Tay and hills of Fife surround this former baronial mansion.