For more than 50 years, the Prideaux-Brune family have welcomed guests to their ancestral Jacobean manor house in an English country garden with the Divelish stream skipping through. It hasn't lost any of its charm; readers on their third stay report that 'it's still wonderful'. Others enthuse about the 'rural location, friendly and efficient staff and hands-on owners'. The country house has the feel of a much-loved home. Interiors have been upgraded, but they retain their traditional feel, with antiques and blazing fires, and a grand piano in a gallery hung with ancestral portraits. As well as main-house bedrooms, some with window seats where you can look out over the garden, there are ten spacious rooms in a restored stone barn surrounding a topiary courtyard. Four are dog friendly; the Prideaux-Brunes' black Labradors make canine visitors feel at home. Richard curates the 'very reasonably priced' wine list, while his brother Brian, with head chef Louis Haskell, cooks 'varied and interesting' dishes such as sea bass with cherry tomatoes and chorizo. Relax in a deckchair on the lawn, or bring your gun and join a shooting party. (Steven and Irene Homer, MD, and others)