If you're outward bound for France, this farmhouse B&B, just ten minutes from the port of Dover and Eurotunnel, is perfect for a stop-off – but you might not want to leave. 'This didn't feel like a hotel, it felt like a home,' writes one contented reader.

The red-and-white candy-striped parasols outside this wisteria-swagged foodie pub with beautifully styles rooms send an irresistible message: come in, it’s fun.

For more than 40 years, Raymond Blanc has held two Michelin stars at this beautiful country-house hotel 'and in our opinion, it's a travesty that he hasn't been awarded three', say Guide insiders.

Anne Boleyn's childhood home, reimagined by William Waldorf Astor as a fairytale moated castle, stands in landscaped grounds with an Edwardian 'Tudor' village, home to this exceptional B&B.

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.

Do you remember an inn, Miranda? Hilaire Belloc certainly remembered this Georgian coaching inn, from which he described setting out in The Four Men.

Free-roaming ponies and donkeys wander past the garden gates of this Arts and Crafts-style single-storey house in the magical surroundings of the New Forest.

Made over in the Signet Collection's signature style, this country-house hotel in a picturesque South Downs village has a relaxed ambience, chic, affordable bedrooms, a boutique spa, and imaginative brasserie fare with good plant-based options.

A fourth venture for Justin and Charlotte Salisbury, this 16th-century beamed farmhouse-cum-local, a former haunt of Dylan Thomas's, has a range of highly individual rooms, mostly in outbuilding with outdoor seating, as well as larky modern art, upcycled, recycled and vintage furniture, a restaurant and bar serving pub food with a difference.

With views to the sea across a Regency square, this townhouse hotel, which is the flagship of a small, privately owned chain, has a hip, bohemian vibe, bedrooms with bare brick walls, retro and reclaimed pieces, and a café-bar and lounge.

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.

With 100 metres of waterfront, river-view bedrooms, casual all-day dining, and plenty to do, this is a fun, casual hotel with a good choice of bedrooms at affordable prices.

Long a social hub for a thriving village between the South Downs and the coast, this family-run gastropub is highly regarded for its warm welcome, smart bedrooms and a menu that mixes pub classics with more imaginative dishes.

Just off the M3, this unpretentious village pub with motel-style accommodation is family friendly and affordable, with a relaxed ambience and a menu of pub favourites, platters and Sunday roasts.

In the heart of horse-racing country, beneath the ancient Ridgeway, this village gastropub has a choice of very affordable rooms and menus ranging from pub classics to seriously sophisticated fare.

A bus ride from Greater London, in the Surrey hills, this whitewashed former coaching inn is a good mix of friendly local and gastropub with rooms, a good base for walking, cycling and picnics on Box Hill.

A Victorian townhouse on the seafront has been transformed into a super-stylish modern B&B with generously equipped bedrooms and a light-filled lounge/cocktail bar/breakfast room.

Old meets new in this revived 16th-century coaching inn, now a busy, cheerful pub in a historic Wealden village.

Just a couple of minutes' drive from Petworth, with views over farmland to the South Downs, this gastropub has smart contemporary bedrooms and some exciting menu choices.

Just off the main street of this popular Cotswolds town, this family-run 16th-century former coaching inn is well liked for its three tasteful bedrooms, pub classics done well alongside more adventurous dishes, and an oasis garden at the rear.

'A really nice place to stay, in a lovely quiet village setting,' this beautifully renovated 17th-century thatched inn lives anew as a local pub with rooms. Manager Claire Lenkowiec and chef Valerio Grimaldi-Plant run the show for the owners and, by George, they get it right!

So handy for Windsor Castle and Great Park, this is a friendly, affordable independent hotel with relaxed dining in restaurant and bar.

You can paddleboard on the river, take a yoga class, stroll to see the deer in Richmond Park, and feel a world away from central London at this smart, multifaceted Thames-side hotel.

Pigs have foraged in the New Forest since the Norman Conquest, but a different breed arrived in 2011, when Robin Hutson took on a Georgian hunting lodge and reinvented the English country-house hotel, with a shabby-chic style mixing designer wallpapers and boot-sale finds in characterful house rooms and hideaway suites. Seasonal menus feature produce from the bountiful kitchen garden.

You can almost imagine you're in rural France when you stay in one of the luxury self-catering lodges among the vines on this family-run wine estate, with farm-to-table menus in the restaurant, and tours and tastings for visitors.

Occupying a row of honeyed-stone 15th-century weavers' cottages, this dog-friendly hotel has an inviting locals bar, individually styled bedrooms that blend contemporary comforts with tradition, and a restaurant serving classics alongside more modern dishes.

A veritable palazzo, this Italianate mansion in National Trust pleasure grounds above the Thames oozes opulence, with bedrooms ranging from doubles to lavish suites, as well as a fine dining restaurant overlooking the parterre, and simpler options in the Astor Grill.

A stroll from the cathedral in the historic heart of the city, this buzzy local restaurant occupies a Georgian house-turned-inn, with splendid bedrooms above, some with a cathedral view, each named after a designer and styled accordingly.

At the heart of some of Britain's best wine-growing country, and centred on a Georgian mansion, this Piggy has accommodation spread across the main house, stable buildings and wagons, with shabby-chic interiors inspired by a fictitious housewife named Mary, menus supplied by coast and countryside, kitchen garden and orchard, and its very own vineyard.