Standing where town meets Dorset countryside, in four acres of English cottage gardens bordered by the River Frome, this former monastery has many fans among our readers. You might play croquet on the lawn before a cream tea. Boat House rooms are right on the riverbank.

Geared more to sybaritic luxury than to country pursuits, with spa breaks in place of hunting, shooting and fishing, this Edwardian mansion is a smart Relais & Châteaux hotel. Bedrooms are contemporary and stylish. There’s a fine-dining restaurant and spa, ten acres of grounds, and you can take the dog.

Kippers for breakfast. A glass of scotch by the drawing room fire. Suppers served in a dining room hung with ancestral portraits. Bedrooms furnished with good antiques… Iona and Jasper Buxton’s Georgian-cum-Victorian Skye mansion in 20 wooded acres is the very model of a warm, inviting Scottish country house.

The spirit of the late Imogen Skirving lives on at this apricot-hued Georgian country house in the Vale of Belvoir, run today by the late chatelaine’s granddaughter Lila Arora. Every bedroom has its own personality and story. Gary Booth’s cooking is outstanding, the ambience faintly and delightfully eccentric.

A devotee and regular return visitor to this country house on the edge of the moors sums it up perfectly: ‘It radiates comfort; delightful and friendly service from the Wood family; excellent food; a wonderful garden and marvellous location.’

Reached by a narrow single-track road, on the edge of Dartmoor national park, 20th-century Tudor-style Gidleigh is the epitome of country-house luxury. Guests can have tea by the log-burner in a panelled drawing room or take a hamper into the grounds. Gorgeous views, Michelin-starred cuisine, Devon heaven.

At the foot of Mount Nephin, in wooded grounds on Lough Conn, Susan Kellett’s Georgian ancestral home is a dream of an Irish country house, a little quaint, dated, charming, filled with antiques, portraits, hunting trophies. At night guests get together over drinks before a convivial dinner of organic produce.

Huw Rees and Sam Rees Prosser have created their dream hotel – a place where friends would like to stay – in a remote situation between Exmoor and the Bristol Channel. A house-party atmosphere prevails, with guests invited to join the hosts for drinks and canapés before a locally sourced dinner from a nightly changing menu.

Interiors are presented in classic country-house style at this dog-friendly mansion on a wooded estate looped by the River Eden. Country pursuits include fishing and pheasant shooting, while tea by the fire and home cooking of locally sourced produce lend a house-party feel.

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.

For over 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.

First-time visitors can’t help but stand and stare at this exquisite country house, with its William and Mary symmetry and 20 acres of gardens and parkland.

‘Expensive but very comfortable' with 'excellent food', this Victorian Scottish baronial hotel on a 28-acre estate combines luxury with unforced family and dog-friendliness.

‘This is one of the best country houses we have stayed in,’ writes a reader, of this white-painted Georgian gentleman’s residence with glorious views over Esthwaite Water to the Langdale Pikes.

There is a relaxed, timeless ambience at this grown-up 19th-century country house (Relais & Château), but things have moved on apace, with fine dining now at the very heart of the operation.

For many guests, Hazel Bank is the epitome of a small country-house hotel, offering 'fantastic food, a great wine selection, charming hosts' along with the a picturesque valley setting, captivating views and walks from the doorstep.

‘A winding drive through woodland takes you back in time’ to Henry and Lucy Hodgson’s Victorian country house on a 180-acre estate on the shores of Lough Corrib.

In an isolated hamlet on the edge of Exmoor national park, where hog-backed cliffs tower above the Bristol Channel, this hotel, in a handsome rectory dating back to the 16th century, 'goes from strength to strength'.

Set among flower-filled gardens in a secluded, green valley, this old rectory is a highly pleasing prospect. There’s tea and cake on arrival, individually styled bedrooms, ‘superb food’ in the restaurant, and smoked haddock at breakfast.

This beautifully converted stone farmhouse in the Forest of Dean has sleek, contemporary rooms with just a touch of rusticity in the beams and exposed stone walls. Book a foraging or wildlife safari, returning to buttered crumpets for tea.

Art lovers will love this romantic place, which has works by Sickert, Whistler and Augustus John. Staying here feels like an Edwardian country house weekend, with aristocratic, antique-filled interiors and 17 acres of landscaped gardens.

In a pretty harbourside village, these former 17th-century workers’ cottages are set in gardens with a stream running through. Bedrooms are light and restful, the restaurant highly praised.

This sprawling dower house – enlarged with the help of local architect Thomas Hardy in 1893 – has traditional bedrooms in florals and stripes, and grand public rooms heaving with antiques.

At the end of a long avenue of lime trees, this golden-hued Georgian house offers ‘quietly eccentric’ rooms decorated in pretty prints and filled with antiques, paintings and books. Couples can book a chalet by the croquet lawn.

The Grade I listed parkland, with its dells, follies and grottoes, was designed by Humphry Repton, and would be a draw on its own, but Olga Polizzi has completed the pastoral idyll with her exquisite interiors in this cottage orné.

The Winsland family run this handsome Victorian house in a riverside setting with unfailing dedication. Guests love the views of Helm Crag, the well-appointed bedrooms, the lounges to relax in, and excellent Cumbrian breakfasts.

An imposing Victorian mansion in large grounds, Kinloch has an oak-panelled hall, library and portrait gallery, but it also manages to be a snug, homely sort of place, with roaring fires and plush bedrooms with views of Marlee Loch.

As the decades have rolled by, this handsome Queen Anne-style house beside a pond quacking with ducks has resisted fads and fashions without compromising on quality. Returning guests love its peach- coloured rooms, loose-leaf tea and G&Ts on the terrace.

Jeremy and Elizabeth Hosking’s Elizabethan manor enjoys the perfect setting, with beautiful gardens amid 1,000 acres of woodland. Inside, it’s just as good, with slick service, antique-filled rooms and Michelin-starred dining.

Dine on fine food in a circular conservatory overlooking a walled garden at this Georgian house in the Eden valley. Bedrooms are homely and traditional, but with crucial spoiling extras, such as spa baths and hydrotherapy showers.

A long drive along a single track leads to this Victorian hunting lodge in a spectacular location overlooking Loch Torridon. Kayak, hike and star-gaze; dine on the best Highland produce. Bedrooms have mesmerising views.

The past is a foreign country at this beautiful 180-acre estate beside Lough Corrib; it has been in the same family since 1890. Step back into another era: no door keys, no TV, and a gong to summon you for a delicious four-course dinner.

This beautifully restored Jacobean mansion oozes laid-back luxury, from four-posters to candlelit dining. Add to that views of the Preseli hills, extensive grounds, and one of Pembrokeshire’s prettiest market towns just down the road.

Marcello Tully’s destination restaurant is reason enough to visit this heirloom-filled former hunting lodge owned by Lord and Lady Macdonald. The setting is pretty special, too, with spectacular views of Loch Na Dal from some of the rooms.

As well as grand Georgian architecture, refined interiors, and a spa at The Newt, you will find a treetop walk, wild swimming pool, ice-cream parlour, and even an interactive gardening museum. And don’t forget the cyder bar.

Once home to French royalty in exile, this National Trust-owned mansion brims with antiques, paintings, tapestries. Despite the grandeur, it’s unstuffy. Play croquet. Dress down for the café/bar, dress up for fine dining.

The superlative staff, outstanding cuisine and sumptuously appointed bedrooms have won unstinting praise this year for the Harts’ former hunting lodge turned hotel. Beautifully landscaped gardens are bordered by shimmering Rutland Water.

Flower-filled gardens border the River Frome from this 16th-century former priory. You can take lunch alfresco, afternoon tea by the fire in a cosy lounge, dine very well in the Garden restaurant. Some bedrooms are in the Boathouse on the riverbank.

In a gentle Cotswold landscape, this cherished 17th-century manor house and former rectory is furnished with antiques, the walls hung with portraits of past rectors. You can take tea by the fire or in lovely gardens, dine formally or informally.

A very special place, Olga Polizzi’s ducal fishing lodge stands in an Arcadian landscape with the Tamar running through. The relaxed chic style mixes contemporary touches with period furnishings, in perfect harmony with the historic building.

Flower-filled public rooms, elegant dining and the welcoming host win praise for this hotel, a fine 19th-century parochial house and former nunnery, in terraced gardens. Traditionally styled bedrooms have truly charming individual touches.

Starry and glamorous yet relaxed, this rebuilt and extended Georgian lodge offers all you could look for in a country house hotel and spa. A perfect blend of traditional hospitality and 21st-century luxury, in a bucolic New Forest setting.

The Edwardian interiors of this Scots Revival former holiday home of the MacRobert family have been lovingly preserved in a recent makeover. Furnished with antiques, it stands in beautifully landscaped gardens. At dinner Scottish ingredients shine.

The late Sir Bernard Ashley’s art collection still adorns this Jacobean mansion remodelled by Clough Williams Ellis. An Edwardian house-party atmosphere prevails, with fresh flowers, new-laid eggs from happy hens,

Guests drive through woodland to discover this château-style Victorian mansion with a romantic lake, fountain and ancient dovecote. Afternoon tea can be taken by the fire in a panelled library hung with oil paintings. Elegant bedrooms are supplied with all comforts.

A romantic Elizabethan manor house in well-tended gardens, Michelin-starred cooking in a dramatic glass-walled new dining room, log fires in comfy lounges, and every imaginable comfort combine at this perennial Guide favourite.

One of the Guide’s most characterful hotels, this apricot-washed Georgian mansion might be a private house, with its many idiosyncratic charms. Antique clocks tick. Walls are hung with artworks. Pretty, old- fashioned, individually styled bedrooms overlook magical grounds.

Guests gather for drinks by a log fire before sitting down together to dine, house-party style, at this classic Georgian mansion in parkland overlooking medieval castle ruins. Antiques, hunting prints, a stag’s head and fossil collection make for interesting browsing.

Wooded grounds surround this Victorian Cotswold stone house, built by the founder of neighbouring Westonbirt Arboretum. Interiors are stylish, but log fires, tweedy armchairs and a library of curios lend a private-house feel. Well-mannered hounds are welcome.

Celebrity chef Michael Caines’s perfectionism is everywhere apparent in this beautifully restored Georgian mansion on the Exe estuary. From watercolours and water colours (an estuary-inspired palette) to Michelin-starred cooking, everything is tiptop.