Named in honour of Shrewsbury's famous son, this Grade II* listed Sandford House, moments from the Severn towpath, has evolved into a B&B full of Darwin references, with animal and plant wallpapers, maps and natural history objets.

Amid rolling hills, where Shropshire nudges Herefordshire, Pippa and Willem Vlok's restaurant with rooms comprises a picturesque set piece of medieval and Georgian farm buildings.

More resort than hotel, this child-friendly, dog-friendly place of escape on the Farncombe estate, on a hill above Broadway, offers a wide choice of accommodation, from chic bedrooms to treehouses and shepherds' huts, with bar/lounges, fine-dining restaurant and a wide range of activities on site.

With its wing armchairs, antique settles, warm lighting, and Farrow & Ball palette, the bar of this 19th-century ironstone and limestone village pub with rooms is reassuringly cosy and welcoming.

This Victorian gothic mansion might appear a little forbidding, but step inside and you are overwhelmed by a warm ambience and beautiful interiors, while some guests choose to sleep in the woods in a timber-lined 'hive' or treehouse.

If you're looking for affordable luxury, this Victorian mansion in parkland, remodelled in the style of a French château, has spacious bedrooms, opulent suites, and a choice of small-plates dining or a tasting menu.

With walks from the doorstep, views of Peak District hills, a peaceful garden, breakfast feasts and restful bedrooms, it's no surprise that Underleigh wins so much praise.

Everything is peachy at this apricot-hued Georgian country house in the Vale of Belvoir, at the end of a long avenue of lime trees, transformed from a family home into a delightful, idiosyncratic and much-loved hotel.

Sarah and Jonathan Stamp's Georgian farmhouse B&B offers three lovely bedrooms for adults only, a first-rate breakfast, walking trails, a trout stream for fishing, and bucolic bliss.

There is a wide choice of generously equipped rooms at this substantial, dog friendly, family-friendly hotel on the edge of the Burghley Estate, with a pleasantly informal ambience and imaginative, seasonally inspired food served in the bistro.

A Tudor black-and-white coaching inn once known for its medieval banquets, this gastropub has taken a leap into the 21st century with smart designer bedrooms and sophisticated cooking of local and home-grown produce.

A popular wedding venue, this Georgian former rectory with the ambience of a small country-house hotel scored highly with Guide inspectors for the superb cooking: a place worth visiting for the restaurant alone.

With beams, cottage-style bedrooms and beautiful gardens running down to the River Stour, this 16th-century Cotswold manor house in pretty South Warwickshire countryside not far from Stratford-upon-Avon makes a charming B&B.

The team from Covent Garden restaurant Native has taken over this exceptional restaurant with rooms, continuing the ethos of sustainability and localism with wonderfully creative cooking.

Both culture and nature are on your doorstep at Maggi and Gerard Heelan's 'excellent B&B guesthouse' just five minutes' walk from the Opera House in this splendid Peak District spa town.

The gardens are the great glory of John and Sue Cushing's Georgian manor house deep in dairy country, with abundant home-grown produce featuring on menus, and light summer lunches served on the rose garden terrace.

Reopened in 2024 after a £1.6 million refurbishment, this former coaching inn in a picture-perfect village is a pleasing mix of original beams, exposed stone and smart decor, with well-appointed rooms, a friendly atmosphere, and a restaurant serving pub classics alongside more inventive dishes.

It was nearly Howard's end in 2015 before two local families stepped in to restore the fortunes of this 'traditional village pub on the village green', which makes a great base for exploring the Cotswolds with its 'upmarket pub food, good service and excellent breakfasts'.

In a quiet, restful setting with its own small flock of sheep and free-range hens, this rustic-chic B&B is tucked away down a farm track by an old oak wood just three miles from the city centre.

A rustic aspect belies the rather smart interiors at this pub on the Chatsworth estate serving pub classics and more imaginative fare.

On the edge of a tranquil village, yet only 10 minutes from historic Oundle, the Marriott family offers comfortable B&B rooms in converted buildings on their traditional arable farm.

After standing empty for almost nine years and falling into decay, this handsome village pub was rescued by the community a decade ago and thrives today as a friendly local and smart pub with rooms.

With views over the Hope Valley and Peak District walks from the door, this hotel and wedding venue offers a wide choice of smart bedrooms named after the Australian cricket team who stayed here in 1937.

An olde-worlde pub in a Chatsworth estate village combines with a modern brasserie, while individually styled bedrooms are spread between the inn and three cottages.

An ideal base for exploring the Peak District, this sympathetically updated 16th-century coaching inn offers a wide choice of rooms at very reasonable price, and a menu of locally sourced dishes to please all tastes.

Behind the Tudor black-and-white facade of this old coaching inn lies a gastropub big on sustainability, with some quirky options for an overnight stay.

Food is at the heart of this hotel, with bedrooms of great charm in an ancient farmhouse and its converted outbuildings, an on-site cookery school and farm-to-fork menus of exciting, locally sourced dishes.