Where the road ends and the Irish Sea begins, this former Victorian hunting lodge with a private cove is secluded, unapologetically traditional and rich in comforts and good food.

Traditional as Burns Night and bannocks, the McMenemie family’s Victorian country house hotel stands in well-kept lawned gardens on the shores of Loch Faskally.

Under the big skies of Caithness, wrapped in woodland and a curve of the River Forss, this Georgian mansion offers the grandeur of Scottish country house living but with modern-day warmth and comforts.

More than 40 miles of signed routes around Pitlochry lead through woodland, along the loch side, by river and burn, to the Linn of Tummel waterfall, to Scotland’s smallest distillery. Struan and Louise Lothian, hosts at this hotel, are happy to advise.

Field-sports fans and whisky aficionados beat a path to this Victorian hunting lodge, in a ‘glorious location’ on a vast wooded estate by Loch Gairloch.

'Nothing seems too much trouble' at this turreted 1920s mansion, one of Scotland’s first country house hotels, which has been owned by the same family for 70 years.

In a ‘beautiful’ setting, Jan and Adam Moore’s dog-friendly country hotel in an 18th Century sporting lodge looks out over the hills and is surrounded by trees.

The epitome of tweed chic, two handsomely refurbished Victorian villas – Dunstane House, and Hampton House, opposite – make up one smart hotel. The Dunstane Houses has recently changed ownership.

‘Scottish baronial at its best: all towers and turrets’, Beth and Murdo Macleod’s ‘very well-organised’, dog-friendly hotel stands in manicured lawns by the shores of Loch Long.

Overlooking the sea towards Mull, this homely hotel on the Hebridean island of Iona has a deserved reputation for its warm welcome, fresh and creative food, and restorative peace.

With porte cochère, crenellated tower and fine Victorian interiors, this country house overlooking Loch Portree is redolent of the history of the Macdonald family.

'Very quiet and peaceful' on the shores of Loch Sunart, this family-friendly and dog-friendly country house has an 'exceptional location'.

The long drive is worth it to this edge-of-the-world location, where a Georgian manse, with pretty, traditional rooms and superb food, overlooks a long sandy beach.

It has been an anniversary year at Lord and Lady Macdonald’s former hunting lodge ‘in a beautiful position’ on the shores of Loch Na Dal, with views to the Cuillin mountains.

With peacocks in the garden, kilt-wearing staff, fire-warmed sitting rooms and antiques at every turn, this 17th-century country house is an indulgent experience.

‘A stunning Georgian building with wonderful grounds’, this 1820s mansion has been run as a hotel by ‘lovely, friendly’ hosts Susannah and Stuart Macpherson since 2003.

Take a drive on the wild side via the North Coast 500 to this small private hotel, a former Church of Scotland manse in a landscape of remote and rugged beauty overlooking Badcall Bay.

Set back from the road in its own mature grounds, Sonia and William Marshall’s Victorian house stands on the edge of a swathe of the ancient Scots pine woodland, haunt of the capercaillie, that surrounds Grantown.

Take afternoon tea on the terrace at this former Victorian tweed mill and you hear nothing but birdsong and the plash of the Gynack Burn that once powered the looms.

Turn off the A82 onto a wooded drive, and you will pass the emotive ruins of Invergarry Castle in the grounds of this Scottish baronial mansion overlooking Loch Oich.

In the vast, remote, elemental landscape of Assynt, a 19th-century coaching inn overlooking Loch Glendhu has moved with the times to become a relaxed modern hotel.

‘This is a really lovely hotel in a wonderful location,’ writes a reader, after a stay at Gordon Campbell Gray’s whitewashed former piermaster’s house on the shores of Loch Linnhe, by the jetty where the Lismore ferry docks.

In the north of Skye, overlooking Loch Dunvegan, this whitewashed former crofter’s house with its distinctive three chimneys is the unlikely setting for a celebrated restaurant-with-rooms.

Guests love the tranquillity and attentive service at Angus and Jane Fordyce's Georgian mansion, set in open countryside close to the dunes and salt marshes of the Solway coast.

If you don’t see owners Amanda and Niall Leveson Gower around their small hotel, they may be at sister venture Hamersay House, or out diving for scallops and gathering mussels for supper.

Glenfinnan House Hotel has closed until further notice.

A handsome Edwardian mansion overlooking the River Tweed in the eastern Scottish Borders, Windlestraw combines the elegance of its age with modern comforts and fine dining.

The auld alliance holds firm at this restaurant-with-rooms in a conservation village, where Fabrice Bouteloup gives a French spin to fine Scottish produce.

‘What a fabulous place to stay!’ write trusted readers this year of this former Highland village blacksmith’s house and workshop, which Robert Bryson and Glen Russell now run as a restaurant-with-rooms.

In a Victorian terrace house in a tiny village close to the North Sea coast, Maria Watson and her son, Garry, combine ‘superb hospitality’ and ‘outstanding food’ at their welcoming restaurant-with-rooms.

The air, the seafood, the views – all are zingingly fresh at this family-run hotel on the Hebridean island of Coll.

This architectural gem – an Edwardian Scots Revival country house – in the fertile Howe of Cromar, with long views to the Grampians, is today a very special country house hotel.

Spectacular views across Loch Tummel to the iconic peak of Schiehallion can be seen from this ‘characterful and quirky old coaching inn’ ten miles from Pitlochry in Perthshire’s big-tree country.

The catch of the day could be Shetland hake in the restaurant or nifty fielding on the sands at this pub-with-rooms overlooking the Firth of Forth, with its own beach cricket team.

This fine baronial house, opposite the Necropolis, and with the Cathedral as a backdrop, was built in 1896 as a half-way hostel for female prisoners.

The white-washed 18th Century building with its distinctive black window mouldings has long been a popular landmark of this pretty borders town.

‘An excellent base’ for exploring the Lowlands, Lisa and Steve Davies’s ‘great-value’ guest house is in a small town surrounded by ‘beautiful rolling countryside’.

Genuine Scottish hospitality, spectacular scenery and the thrill of some of Scotland’s finest wild brown trout fishing lure visitors to the Campbell family’s old coaching inn on the scenic North Coast 500 road route.

Arguably, this former Victorian shooting lodge has the best location in Portree with views over the bay, the Sound of Raasay and to the Cuillin Mountains.