‘Friendly’, ‘informal’ and ‘welcoming’, James Moffett’s ‘characterful’ hotel is well liked by walkers and dog owners, who come for the ‘reasonable prices’ and the ‘marvellous Derbyshire Dales setting’.

Set against a backdrop of mature trees, this ‘lovely’ white-painted Georgian house was called Lakefield when Beatrix Potter first spent a summer here in 1896. She sketched fungi and painted the view we share today, of Esthwaite Water. For the past 14 years, Richard and Margaret Lee have been ‘hospitable’, ‘charming’ owners whose guest house has ‘much to admire’.

A night in a threshing barn may not sound like the last word in luxury, but ‘there’s nothing to find fault with’ at this B&B conversion of a 19th-century livestock farm, where hens wander and chuckle in the ‘beautiful’ grounds.

Approached by a private, unadopted road, Clinton and Lisa Lovell’s 1920s mansion has a ‘stunning, unique location’ between Littlestone’s shingle beach and miles of wild marshland scattered with ancient churches.

Something of the French country house permeates this former dower house turned restaurant-with-rooms: perhaps the ‘gorgeous, unspoilt’ setting, or the ‘thoughtful, laid-back’ staff, or the ‘real personality’ of owners Barbara Garnsworthy and brother Brendan.

It’s the attention to detail that wins praise from Guide readers at the McMenemie family’s ‘surprising, impressive’ traditional hotel on the banks of Loch Faskally.

There’s good reason why Dan Brod and Charlie Luxton’s ‘attractive’ pub-with-rooms is ‘obviously very popular’, say regular Guide readers.

Beyond the stone balustrade that encloses the terrace of this substantial Victorian house, the views over sheep-grazed pastures reach towards the Howgills and North Pennines.

Amid the coaching prints and framed vintage maps, there’s a ‘fantastically friendly’ atmosphere at this popular pub-with-rooms.

A ‘friendly’ welcome awaits at Louise and David Farrance’s ‘peaceful’ B&B, in a 15th-century farmhouse along a country lane.

When John Remington, vicar of Cartmel, entertained the Duke of Devonshire at this 17th-century stone manor in 1842, he built the very fine dining room in his honour (visitors still admire its panelling, bay windows and ornate moulded ceiling today).

‘Exceptionally welcoming’, ‘traditional but not stuffy’, this B&B wins applause from Guide readers who enjoy the relaxed, friendly atmosphere and the ‘well-informed’ staff (‘several of whom are family’).

‘Lovely, warm and welcoming, it is one of our favourite places to stay.’ Formed from a collection of whitewashed cottages in a fishing village, Jean Urquhart’s unusual bookshop-with-rooms began in 1970 as a café in a boatshed, where musicians could sing for their supper.

‘Quite excellent’, Louise Dinnes’s ‘friendly’ country pub-with-rooms continues to attract regular visitors with its ‘unstuffy, warm and welcoming’ atmosphere, and ‘remarkably good value for money’.

‘Pleasant’, ‘attentive’ staff encourage guests to make themselves at home in Nick and Melanie Tulip’s country hotel.

‘A place that draws us back.' A regular Guide reader, in 2016, paid a third visit to Robert Lyons and Lesley Wheeler’s former staging post on the Leven estuary. .

‘I cannot fault this B&B in any way,’ writes a first-time visitor in 2016.

Walkers and countryside explorers find a warm welcome at Vivienne and Philip Taylor’s B&B, in a scenic spot within the Peak District national park.

In a pretty village in the South Downs national park, ‘thoughtful’ hosts Heather and Patrick Birchenough greet B&B guests with tea and ‘a firm handshake’.

The ‘magical setting’ in the Valency valley is the perfect spot for a whimsical tale. Thomas Hardy arrived here in 1870, to be met at the door by the rector’s sister-in-law, Emma Gifford, his future first wife. If it’s the romance of the story that draws guests to Sally and Chris Searle’s B&B, it’s the hospitality that inspires them to return.

‘Warmth exudes’ from the Reynolds family’s ‘happy’, ‘comfortable’ small hotel: ‘They obviously know exactly how to make the place tick.’

‘What a great find!’ In a peaceful rural spot ‘conveniently’ close to the M6, this ‘out-of-the-ordinary’ motorway hotel (formerly the Westmorland) is upgraded to a full entry, thanks to trusted Guide correspondents whose stay in 2016 ‘exceeded expectations’.

Get back to the land at Enid Nelless’s ‘beautiful’, rustic B&B close to the banks of the River Coquet.

A Bechstein grand piano presides over the beamed breakfast room in this granite former cowshed, today a modest, characterful B&B run by Eluned Rowlands.