For more than 50 years, the Prideaux-Brune family have welcomed guests to their ancestral Jacobean manor house in an English country garden with the Divelish stream skipping through.

Historic features are seamlessly blended with contemporary styling at this riverside gastropub with indoor, outdoor and waterside dining, and a menu of pub classics alongside more inventive dishes.

There are mesmerising views of medieval Alnwick Castle from the Duchy of Northumberland's new hotel, occupying the Georgian Commissioner's house and former school, with further rooms in a modern extension, and 'top-notch' cooking in the restaurant.

Following a stunning redesign, this family-friendly, luxury New Forest hotel and spa continues to set the standard for country-house comfort, romance, fun and superb food.

Perfectly placed to enjoy a distillery tour or to follow the whisky trail, Sonia Marshall's Victorian house in the heart of Speyside stands in mature grounds on the edge of a swathe of the ancient Scots pine woodland that surrounds Grantown.

The ancient stone-built Bath Arms in woodlands on the Longleat estate gets a big thumbs up from readers for its 'excellent, attentive and pleasant staff', 'appealing menus', real ales and great-value, well-decorated rooms.

A boutique hotel in every sense (if you love the furnishings you can buy your own), this sublimely situated Arts and Crafts Victorian country house is a perfect base for outdoor pursuits, with fine-dining restaurant, onsite pub, and picnics to order.

Life is attuned to nature at this country-house hotel in a Georgian mansion on a working estate. with walled garden, biodynamic farm, luxury spa, and two restaurants that celebrate seasonality and provenance.

In a delightful village, this 16th-century village pub, now part of the Avington Park estate with its trout fishery and leisure facilities, impresses with four beautifully presented bedrooms and some very creative dishes alongside pub grub done very well.

The fun, hip, relaxed ethos of this pub with exceptional-value rooms on the edge of the Fonthill Estate is evident from the minute you walk in the door. Guide insiders couldn't believe the buzz when they arrived at this 'comfy, characterful place' in the afternoon, long after lunch.

A neo-Gothic fantasy castle in glorious pleasure grounds and parkland, the Cunliffe-Lister family's hotel offers a taste of country-house living, with opulent interiors, spacious bedrooms and suites, estate-to-plate dining and a spa.

Against the backdrop of Stag Fell, with glorious views over Wensleydale, this many-gabled stone-built Georgian mansion in peacock-patrolled grounds offers the perfect country-house escape, mixing antiques and original features with modern bathrooms, and giving traditional dishes a contemporary tweak in the fine-dining restaurant.

Swiss gallerists Iwan and Manuela Wirth have had a Highland fling at this 19th-century coaching inn, where you can sip cocktails in a bar inspired by Elsa Schiaparelli, eat pub grub in the Flying Stag, opt for fine dining under the chandeliers in the restaurant, sleep in a suite adorned with Victoriana, relax under a Picasso, and gaze at Bruegel over your breakfast porridge.

Hrishikesh Desai's innovative, Michelin-starred cooking is just one of the attractions at this luxury country-house hotel in beautifully maintained gardens deep in the Cumbrian countryside.

Choose a stylish bedroom, suite or waterside lodge at this Victorian merchant's house in landscaped grounds, where imaginative brasserie-style fare is served in the coach house.

A riverside conversion of a Victorian grammar school and headmaster's house gains an A* for splendid, characterful, boutique-style bedrooms, some with terrace and hot tub, and short, set-price, foodie-pleasing menus.

There are no TVs or minibars at the Leslies' ancestral country house on an estate with lakes and woodlands, but interiors are a trove of Grand Tour treasures, every house bedroom comes with some extraordinary tale, and estate-to-plate dishes are served in the restaurant.

There is a simple elegance about this Georgian rectory, with uncluttered bedrooms, modern foodie menus served in dining room and glasshouse, an outdoor swimming pool in landscaped gardens, and pub grub for those who want it at sister venture the Potting Shed across the road.

The wonky charms of this timber-frame 15th-century coaching inn combine with smart bedrooms retaining original features, and estate-to-plate dining in the bar, restaurant and courtyard.

There are spectacular views across Loch Tummel to the iconic peak of Schiehallion from Jade and Alice Calliva's old coaching inn, where bedrooms of great character have hand-picked artworks and many extras, and an appealing, unpretentious menu is sourced from local suppliers.

There is a house-party ambience at Justin and Jenny Green’s Georgian country house, filled with treasures passed down through generations, where produce from the kitchen garden and estate feature on the set dinner menu, and everything from bread and preserves to gin infusions is made in house.

A 16th-century cider house right on the village green with views to a duck pond, Archie and Nicola Orr-Ewing's gastropub with rooms combines the ethos of a friendly local with the facilities of a stylish bolthole, serving well-executed pub classics with more exotic flourishes.

In a sublime setting on a wooded estate on Loch Torridon, this baronial-style hunting lodge appeals to sybarites and sporty types, with amazing views and luxurious bedrooms, tasting menus sourced from the kitchen garden and farm, and a brasserie.

Interiors at this dog-friendly, intensely characterful inn in a historic conservation village are a riot of granny's attic eccentricity, while bedrooms next door are large, light and contemporary, with swish bathrooms; a weekly changing menu features pub favourites, shooting packages can be arranged, and golfers get special rates at Gleneagles.

Step into this 400-year-old inn and you find all the hoped-for buzz and beams and ambience, but you might not guess how beautifully the bedrooms have been styled (first-floor Great Tew is the showpiece), while the menu mixes superior pub classics with more modern cooking.

With rustic-chic accommodation in barns and shepherds' huts, an organic kitchen garden supplying inventive menus in the Great Barn restaurant, and a spa and gym, this hotel in fruit-farming country is an ideal place to relax and recharge.

At the heart of Exmoor, above the River Barle, this 17th-century stone inn above a medieval clapper bridge is a wildlife-watcher's paradise, with fishing on both river banks.

A Victorian baronial fantasia with half-timbering, turrets, candle-snuffer roofs, stepped gables and Arts and Crafts interior overlooking Loch Long, this dog-friendly hotel mixes pretty classic doubles with impressive suites, while the chef uses local seasonal produce for fine-dining menus in an atmospheric panelled dining room.

One of the world's most beautiful drives, along the North Coast 500, brings you to a fishing village and this hotel in a former Edwardian house just steps from the links, with comfortable, characterful bedrooms and bistro-style food.

On the market square, this 18th-century inn with onsite brewery has jazzy house bedrooms in dolly-mixture colours with pencil-point four-posters, annexe rooms surrounding a coastal garden with views to the lighthouse, Adnams beers in the Tap Room, pub classics and contemporary seasonal fare in the Still Room, and a general joie de vivre.