Leave the fuss and fret of the AI(M) at Scotch Corner to reconnect with the land at this idyllic hotel, centred on a Georgian coach house amid gardens, parkland and woodland.

Steeped in history and dating in parts from Norman times, this extraordinary hotel has antique-filled bedrooms, an oasis rear garden bounded by the city wall, and a fine-dining restaurant.

There is a clever mix of the traditional and modern at this Victorian coaching inn with contemporary main-house, poolside and spa suites, inventive cooking in the restaurant, and an all-year heated outdoor pool.

With views over the Vale of York, this village inn has all the warmth, character and robust food expected of a 300-year-old country pub. Owners Michael and Sasha Ibbotson ensure guests, and their dogs, are well cared for.

Beside a beck in a Dales village, England's first plant-based hotel, bar and restaurant is green, dog friendly and fun.

A splendid Victorian-gothic mansion in parkland, minutes' drive from Scarborough, Wrea Hall has been repurposed as a luxury hotel with very characterful bedrooms and a fine-dining restaurant.

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.

Much altered since it was begun in 1695, the Cunliffe-Lister family's neo-Gothic, castellated fantasy castle is 'a very special place, grand and imposing', in 'simply glorious' pleasure grounds and parkland.