MOORLAND ROMANCE
Dartmoor Inn, Lydford, Devon
There are pretty rooms, great meals and even retail therapy at this pub-with-attitude, so close to the moor that you can step out on a frosty morning to fit in a walk before breakfast by the fire. You’ll need to work up an appetite for it — the inn serves one of the best breakfasts in the country: girl-food includes little pots of fruit salad, chocolate mousse and rice pudding, man-food comes in the form of escalope of beef fillet with a fried egg, and Devon splits.

The shop is a real surprise, at the back of the pub, and glitters with vintage Swarovski rhinestones, beaded chokers, Swedish glassware and antique finds. Three double rooms upstairs, added a year ago, fuse European antiques and sumptuous fabrics.

B&B from £80 (when you stay two nights) or from £95 for one night. Ask about set lunch and dinner menu deals
Details: 01822 820221, www.dartmoorinn.com

MODERN COACHING
The Bull Hotel, Bridport, Dorset
Manuel Canovas meets Thomas Hardy at a fresh take on a trad coaching inn, which opened in summer after a refurbishment under new owners. This elegant and historic market town is in glorious country, with plenty of walking and villages such as Evershot (Evershead in Tess of the d’Urbervilles) within easy reach, as are the beaches around Lyme Regis. Rooms are dressed up in Canovas wallpapers and Farrow & Ball colours to deliver a “wow” factor in each — nine on the first floor, with more being renovated on the top floor. The restaurant has an open fire and is a neighbourhood hit, with its local produce and well-chosen wines, and there’s even a ballroom for special occasions.

B&B from £65 a night.
Details: 01308 422878, www.thebullhotel.co.uk

RELAXED LUXURY
Lamper Head, Totnes, Devon
Self-catering took on a New Age mantle when Lamper Head opened this year. Not that there’s anything remotely basic here — this stunning green oak-framed house sleeps 11 and was designed and constructed by the architect Roderick James with Carpenter Oak Ltd — both featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs.

At this lofty coastal retreat you’ll find an art collection, Italian furniture and state-of- the-art sound system, but guests in need of post-Christmas stress relief can also choose from a menu of extras, such as massages, yoga or meditation sessions. You can take the “self” out of catering too; there’s a chef for hire who will cook in a variety of styles from Thai to Modern British. Take a group of friends (maximum eight adults) or there’s a children’s bunk room complete with attic playroom if you’re travelling en famille.

Three-day breaks from £1,495 — spa treatments and other services extra. Details: 01803 722220, www.lamperhead.com

SPLENDID ISOLATION
Pencalenick House,
Fowey, Cornwall

Short days will seem longer when you have uninterrupted sea views from Pencalenick’s double-height windows, whether you’re watching a storm rolling in or sharp, wintry sun lighting a pale-blue sky. This is the sort of house you normally see in coffee-table books, but it can be yours — for a short break or longer.

The architect Seth Stein designed Pencalenick House in timber, glass and local stone, with a seeded grass roof, and built it in the contours of a forested hillside at Pont Pill creek, opposite the pretty Cornish harbour town of Fowey. Since opening in May it has raised the game in the Cornish house-rental stakes. Privacy and peace come as standard, but so too does a full-time staff and (weather permitting) the use of a 40ft motor yacht.

Sleeps 16, from £2,000 a day, fully inclusive.
Details: 0207-747 6858, pencalenickhouse.com

TOAST OF THE COAST
Andrews on the Weir, Porlock Weir, Somerset

This restaurant with rooms is tucked into a hillside where Exmoor rolls down to the sea — a more perfect spot is hard to imagine. It is less than four hours from London, yet this area is often bypassed for Devon and Cornwall.

Andrews on the Weir is a handsome Victorian house with five guest rooms and looks out over a weir and tiny harbour. Expect a cold wind blustering off the sea as you settle in to one of two dining rooms, in which chef Andrew Dixon proudly showcases local produce (and names his suppliers on the menu). Right now that means the last of the wild game and plenty of skate from the nets off Dunster Beach.

Exmoor walks await the hardy, or take the rewarding route from the front door along a wooded path to tiny Culbourne Church between breakfast and lunch.


B&B from £100 to £180 a night. Closed Jan, reopens Feb 2.
Details: 01643 863300, www.andrewsontheweir.co.uk

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