THE RAGGED COT, Cotswolds

This newly revamped classic Gloucestershire country pub displays a dazzling mix of style and substance – so there’s designer decor, but also dog baskets around the flagstone floors; and you can drink either the locals’ favourite real ales or grapes by the glass chosen by a Master of Wine. Rooms are contemporary and individual, with cute touches such as a twist of homemade fudge on the pillow. Sweet dreams. Doubles from £100, B&B (01453 884643, www.theraggedcot.co.uk).

HURST HOUSE ON THE MARSH, South Wales

This former dairy farm sits amid windy Carmarthenshire marshes outside Laugharne, home town of poet Dylan Thomas. The 18 rooms are louche love shacks, with Louis’d-up furniture and wall-to-wall Bang & Olufsen. There’s a dinky spa, a cinema and, for added drama, a fearsome flame-breathing dragon guarding the courtyard. Doubles from £265, B&B (01994 427417, www.hurst-house.co.uk).

The Sunday Times Travel Magazine - January

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ARDEONAIG, Perthshire

The Highlands aren’t short of romantic hideaways, but this cosy 17th-century drovers’ inn on the southern shores of Loch Tay is head, shoulders and sporrans above the rest. Reopened in July after a £1.6 million refurb, the hotel has two new suites and five thatched huts, each with vast views over the loch, interrupted only by the odd leaping trout or osprey. Great food and walks – romance guaranteed. Doubles from £126, B&B (01576 820400, www.ardeonaighotel.co.uk).

THE FOXHUNTER, Southeast Wales

Ever since chef Matt Tebbutt appeared on TV’s Great British Menu, the foodies have flocked to tiny Nantyderry. But few realise that, as well as Tebbutt’s organic eaterie, there are two terraced cottages. You can self-cater, dine at the restaurant (the pasta with slow-cooked beef is meltingly memorable), have dinner brought to you – or forage for it: Matt takes guests out scouring hedgerows for seasonal wild food, then incorporates their finds into the menu. Doubles from £125 (01873 881101, www.thefoxhunter.com).

TITCHWELL MANOR, Norfolk

If you like your coffee accompanied by bird-song, this old Victorian farmhouse – opposite the RSPB reserve – is a right rural treat. Rooms in the main house are done in muted Farrow & Ball washes, while the Herb Garden rooms come with a side of thyme and lavender on the breeze. The conservatory restaurant is the main draw, though: devour a plate of plump Brancaster oysters, followed by rhubarb and peach crumble, then doze in the landscaped garden, cheery swallows swooping overhead. Doubles from £110, B&B (01485 210221, www.titchwellmanor.com).

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