Lastingham Grange

The road peters out just past this 'peaceful hotel with beautiful garden and idyllic setting', in a historic village on the edge of Spaunton Moor. Owned and run by the Wood family for almost 70 years and beloved of regular Guide readers, ‘it radiates comfort’. The decor is ‘of its time’, with fringed lampshades, floral bedspreads, carpets, wallpapers. ‘Our bedroom was medium sized, not sophisticated or modern, but well lit and comfortable’; it even had a pod coffee machine. ‘The bathroom had a bath with shower over and was well supplied with toiletries.’ 'The price includes afternoon tea (and scones), newspaper, morning coffee, shoes cleaned, etc.' A nightly changing menu ‘reads like a Woosterian country-house weekend’, with dishes such as grilled mushroom au gratin, poached halibut with Pernod hollandaise, and braised venison in Madeira sauce. 'I would have had my grouse rarer, and should have asked.’ 'The wine list remains very reasonably priced.' Breakfast, too, is a Woosterish feast, with kippers, York ham, and good old bacon and eggs. ‘My only complaint – it's not easy to find.’ (Marian Lampert, Ingle Dawson, Sir Rodney Brooke, and others)