Banish images of fast-food outlets and slot machines when you break your journey at Tebay on wild and woolly Shap Fell, 60 miles from the Scottish border.

A 'popular pub in a beautiful village', this 15th-century coaching inn with its old arched carriageway has been beautifully made over in casual-chic style. It was a second venture for Dan Brod and Charlie Luxton, with Matt Greenlees (see also The Lord Poulett Arms, Hinton St George, and The Bath Arms, Horningsham).

'If you have yet to discover Ael-y-Bryn then you are missing out on a gem,' reads one of many positive reports on this adults-only B&B in countryside outside the village of 'Egg-lis-oo-roo', with views to the Preseli hills and Carningli mountain.

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

A former coaching inn, this top-notch B&B with secluded back garden combines hotel-quality accommodation with the warmth and intimacy of an owner-run guest house.

This delightfully eccentric boutique B&B, a stroll from Torquay's seafront, has won numerous awards for its singular style and luxurious standards. Run with great warmth by Andy and Julian Banner-Price, it is known for its funky features, state-of-the-art touches and fastidious attention to detail.

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

There is no isle here, no lake, no bee-loud glade, but the name of Richard and Janine Burton's lauded restaurant-with-rooms draws inspiration from WB Yeats's Innisfree, a place of serenity and escape.

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.

Agatha Christie memorabilia, murder-mystery weekends and Art Deco touches set the tone at Hugh and Emma Asher's creeper-clad hotel, former home of the author's doctor friends, in a bustling market town.

The fun, hip, relaxed ethos of this pub with exceptional-value rooms on the edge of the Fonthill Estate is evident from the minute you walk in the door. Guide insiders couldn't believe the buzz when they arrived at this 'comfy, characterful place' in the afternoon, long after lunch.

'It is a treat' to stay in this 'wonderful B&B', writes a reader of this Georgian house on Newport's main street. It makes an ideal base from which to explore the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and hosts Judith and Michael Cooper, who welcome guests with tea or coffee and home-made Welsh cakes, can advise on the 'fabulous walks nearby'.

Bedrooms occupy converted outbuildings at this unusual B&B set in gardens ten minutes from beaches, each with outdoor space and kitchenette, where breakfast is served in the Victorian farmhouse dining room.

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.

A traditional farmhouse B&B with just two bedrooms as well as self-catering cottages, Thistleyhaugh is in the capable hands of the Nelless family's second-generation of hosts.

Step inside a red-brick corner house in a yachting town on the edge of the New Forest, to find an idiosyncratic B&B, imbued with the generosity and personality of Tobias Feikle, perfect host and breakfast chef extraordinaire.

You could not wish for a more glorious location than you find at Lorraine Hinkins and Alex Yorke's 18th-century farmhouse B&B, with views to Cader Idris and Tal-y-llyn lake.

Outside Grasmere's village centre, this period property boasts original Victorian features alongside boutique features in the bedrooms.

Archie and Nicola Orr-Ewing have created a seamless blend of friendly village local and gastropub-with-rooms at their former 16th-century cider house overlooking the green.

Behind a handsome 18th-century façade, this former village inn overlooking the green is a contemporary drop-in bar and restaurant with stylish rooms, offering a mix of pub classics and more imaginative dishes.

Scottish culture and celebration are at the heart of the Urquhart family's hotel, café, bar and restaurant near the ferry terminal on Loch Broom, a social hub with simple bedrooms, young staff, short and interesting locally sourced menus, and a bunkhouse for those on a budget.

Unlikely as it sounds, a 1950s office block in central Bristol is today a cool B&B with neat bedrooms, shiny rooftop caravans, a relaxed vibe and a courtyard garden.

Breakfast is served at a vast oak table in the Great Hall at this characterful B&B, occupying a 15th-century manor house on the Dyer family's dairy farm.

In the only west-facing resort on England's east coast, Jeanne Whittome's B&B appeals to those seeking space and freedom, without cosseting, live-in hosts.

An 18th-century part-thatched former tannery turned village ale house has been renovated in a style of rustic simplicity, with unfussy bedrooms and a dining room serving pub classics and more complex dishes.

Matt and Amy Marshall welcome new arrival with a drink and are happy to share their local knowledge and love of Sussex at this 18th-century bakery-turned-B&B with updated, bright and airy interiors.

Kindly hostess Eluned Rowlands welcomes guests to her B&B – a stylishly renovated granite cowshed on the edge of Snowdonia –with tea and Welsh cakes, supplies bedrooms with fresh fruit and sherry, and serves a good Aga-cooked breakfast.

On the shores of Loch Linnhe, with views to Lismore and the mountains of Moven, this former pier-master's house is a lovely hotel with stylish bedrooms and a varied menu, long on fish, served in the sea-view dining room.

Black swans glide on the pond in the gardens of veteran jazz saxophonist Roy Copeland's late-Georgian mansion, with traditionally styled rooms, where an excellent breakfast is served in the orangery.