A guide to the best old English inns – for Michelin-starred dining, historic architecture, creaking corridors and resident ghosts. Expect the country's finest craft ales, rousing bucolic views, country walks on the doorstep, and rooms all four-poster beds, exposed beams and rolltop baths – in the Cotswolds, Berkshire, Lancashire, Surrey, Yorkshire, Helmsley, the Lake District and the Isle of Wight
At this time of year, what could be more enticing than a comfortable hotel offering roaring fires, good local walks and buttered crumpets for tea? Telegraph Travel finds the best in Britain.