Huddled below wooded hills, beside a stone bridge over the River Monnow, this whitewashed former 17th-century coaching inn serves delicious food and has great walks from the door to help you justify eating it.

Following a stunning redesign, this family-friendly, luxury New Forest hotel and spa continues to set the standard for country-house comfort, romance, fun and superb food.

A beautifully proportioned Queen Anne-style mansion overlooking a duck pond, this much-loved traditional hotel has a new owner, but, after 48 years, Baba Hine remains, overseeing restaurant, bistro and well-equipped, spacious bedrooms.

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.

There is a touch of the baronial about this pink sandstone Tudor-style 19th-century mansion, a country-house hotel with fine original features, its public rooms adorned with shooting trophies.

It's been more than 20 years since Susannah and Stuart Macpherson opened the doors of this beautiful Georgian building to guests, and they still take great pride in providing a friendly, warm welcome along with good food and wine.

Life is attuned to nature at this country-house hotel in a Georgian mansion on a working estate. with walled garden, biodynamic farm, luxury spa, and two restaurants that celebrate seasonality and provenance.

Chef-proprietors Guy and Brittany Manning have brought skills honed at triple-Michelin-starred Per Se in Midtown Manhattan to this thatched gastropub on the edge of Salisbury Plain, with 'stupendous' food in the bar/restaurant and garden, and stylish guest bedrooms across the road, with decking from which to watch the ducks on the River Avon.

With its towers and battlements this Victorian-folly castle, in 15 acres of grounds, looks imposing yet 'you actually feel like it is your castle'.

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.

With its bright yellow front door and rhubarb-pink sitting room, this Georgian townhouse with cottages, restaurant in the adjacent ironmonger's and a courtyard garden masterminded by garden designer Penelope Hobhouse is both classic and chic.

Beside the ferry landing, with views to Mull and Staffa, this family-run hotel and island social hub has smart, uncluttered bedrooms, and short menus of locally fished and farmed produce.

Fiona Doyle is your welcoming host at this B&B on the shores of Loch Indaal with stunning views across the bay and a home-from-home ambience.

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.

In a former smithy, shop and barns overlooking the village duck pond, this popular hotel and restaurant is undergoing refurbishment and expansion under new owners the Rockliffe Hall Group.

Eligible military guests receive a discount at this Edwardian gem of a Scottish revival country house in beautifully maintained gardens, owned by a charitable trust and filled with family mementoes, where bedrooms blend classic and contemporary style and tasting menus feature produce from the walled kitchen garden.

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.

Where Exmoor meets the Bristol Channel, this foodie retreat that oozes personality and style has 'very comfortable rooms with lovely sea views; the food is up there with many Michelin-starred restaurants'.

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.

You'll find everything you need for a holiday at this family-run, child-friendly, dog-friendly hotel tucked away in a valley, with a path to a secluded sandy beach.

Behind the solid exterior of an Edwardian park-side villa lies a Scandi-chic boutique hotel and popular drop-in restaurant.

Bring the dog, bring the kids, revel in the gorgeous scenery and the great outdoors at this ‘lifestyle hotel’ with private shorefront on Ullswater and plenty of activities on offer. It's the old, staid Rampsbeck Hotel reinvented (out with the chintz and swags, on with the wetsuits or hiking boots!)

To find a gem in a quiet corner of the visitor-thronged Lake District is not easy, but this smart village inn in the lovely Lyth valley offers 'top-notch food', 'great service' and country-style bedrooms.

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.

Winding country lanes lead to this popular local and gastropub with a welcoming vibe, smart New England-style bedrooms and a restaurant serving the freshest fish and seafood.

'So much more than a pub with rooms', the Three Daggers has its own farm shop, brewery and spa barn with outdoor hot tub and sauna.

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.

Readers are unanimous in their praise for James Moffett's Peak District Hotel, a 17th-centiry gem, a paradise for walkers, where the welcome is friendly, the hospitality generous and the cooking hearty.