'Visiting Cavens is like stepping back in time to a traditional country-house hotel,' writes a reader of Angus Fordyce's Georgian mansion, set in open countryside close to the dunes and salt marshes of the Solway coast. 'It feels like a rather grander home from home,' others add. Guests are welcomed with coffee and cakes on arrival and can relax in the 'light and airy' public rooms with 'plenty of comfy sofas' amid antiques, paintings and cherished objects. The grandest bedroom, Criffel, named after a local hill that thinks it's a mountain, is huge. 'Our twin, Kindar, was comfortable and generously sized with views of the extensive garden and the occasional red squirrel.' At night, Angus cooks a locally sourced three-course dinner, and can accommodate special diets. Readers enjoyed the 'delicious, locally caught sea bass and a very tasty chicken in ginger sauce'. There is an 'exceptionally well priced wine list'. In the morning, 'breakfasts are substantial' and might include kippers, black pudding and haggis and organic eggs from Mrs McMyn's free-ranging Lohmann Browns or the hotel's own hens. (Kenneth Lewis, DS)