The Best Countryside Hotels in the UK

There are a few wide-reaching areas in England that are famed for outstanding beauty – the Cotswolds is most certainly one of them. There are plenty of handsome villages in the region with quality hotels, but The Royal Oak sets itself apart with a contemporary, sustainability conscious approach that manages to feel innovative without relinquishing that coveted country inn atmosphere. Tetbury itself is an ideal gateway with plenty of rambling country walks, which make the area so popular – as well as Highgrove Gardens. The pub itself is the village’s cultural epicentre, with weekly live music. A terrace separates the rooms from the main pub, which helps prevent the noise from bleeding through and leaves space to fill with artsy decor and big bathrooms. Bottled spring water and vegan chocolate await guests on arrival, and the pub has a hearty seasonal menu.

Crossing into the Brecon Beacons is a transformative experience regardless of how you get there, as an impossibly green stretch of thickly forested hilltops stretches out as far as the eye can see. The very fact that Gliffaes Country House offers you the chance to see that view every time you look out the window is enticing enough, but there’s more. It was built in 1883, with Italian design standards in mind and a wide-reaching grounds, and much has been done to preserve that classical bent insight, with ornamental fireplaces, French doors, floral curtains and more. Similarly the restaurant exudes luxury at both dinner and breakfast, with 95 percent of what arrives on your plate locally sourced, and much of it grown and picked right there in the hotel gardens.

This small 21 room hotel on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales prides itself on two things – being dog friendly and offering nature-lovers a top quality stay. Cliffs and waterfalls mark the surrounding countryside, and the 18th century hotel feels almost like it was carved from the very limestone itself. Inside, the whole place is lined with attractive oak panelling and the lounge area has a big open fireplace. In the rooms, four-poster beds and hand carved wardrobes are twinned with walk-in showers and contemporary tiling. Once again most of the food offered in the restaurant is local and guests are allowed to keep up to three dogs in the room free of charge.

Set in the midst of a huge stretch of Grade I-listed gardens, the Endsleigh could be the centrepiece of an illustrated book cover. The Tamar river runs right past the hotel grounds and the gothic landscape of Dartmoor is right on the doorstep. The house itself was built in 1812 as a hunting and fishing lodge for the then Duchess of Bedford. Stepping into the entrance hall you’d almost have thought it had been left completely unchanged since then. Further inspection will reveal that there are modern amenities, but they’ve been well blended into what was already there – antique baths next to waterfall showers, a front lawn with croquet and giant Jenga side-by-side. You can tour the gardens via front desk bookings, and hunt and fish during the high season. The restaurant is characterised by an upmarket Italian style menu.

Cleverly placed just on the outskirts of Chester proper, this handsome hotel feels every bit like it’s out in the wilds of the Cheshire countryside without the need to drive miles from civilisation. Its roots as an 18th-century establishment are well retained – expect lots of wooden panelling. The rooms vary between the more traditional fare and others which have taken on contemporary, global design influences, with the one constant being the views out into the hotel’s impressive grounds. The gym is flanked by a sauna and pool. Outside there’s a greenhouse, jasmine garden and a tennis court, ensuring that guests remain occupied year round. The restaurant has a d’hôte menu for the evening, and traditional roasts on Sundays, as well as hearty cooked breakfasts.

Another contender for the Lake District best-seats-in-the-house award, Lodore Falls sits right on the edge of Derwentwater Lake, making it just as striking to look at as it is to look out from. The rising tower and gables make it look like it’s only a few decades of disuse away from being the location of a horror movie, but with the location, champagne bar, library lounge, terraced gardens and dual British and Asian restaurants, that’s unlikely to happen any time soon. You have to fork out a bit of extra cash to get a view of the lake, but even without that the rooms have an inviting style with wooden veneer furniture and plush super-king beds.

When one of the most glowing reviews of a hotel came from Queen Victoria herself, it probably bodes well. Her Majesty said she’d never seen a “lovelier or more romantic spot” than Inverlochy, and it’s easy to understand why, as it stands resolutely at the foot of Ben Nevis, the UK’s highest peak. Glencoe is nearby, as is Fort William itself, and activities like wildlife photography tours can be arranged at the front desk. Inside the hotel you can unwind in the billiard room, read in the drawing room or eat a five course meal before passing out onto your humongous bed, surrounded by embroidered linen. Despite how classical everything feels, you still get Bang & Olufsen sound systems, big flat-screen TVs and modern bathroom fixtures, so really the best of all worlds.

Another entry on the surprisingly long list of UK hotels built out of castles, Augill has the distinction of looking every bit like the castles you imagined living in when you were six years old, with turrets, battlements and climbing plants hanging over the windows. The terraced gardens seem to stretch eternal, and once you hit the border you have the Cumbrian hills to get lost in. Rooms feature a mishmash of styles which shouldn’t work together but somehow do – think four-poster beds next to upcycled lampshades and you’re on the right track. Sizes vary, but as is befitting of a castle, some of the rooms feel big enough to play tennis in, depending on how much cash you’re willing to part ways with. In the common area there’s a game room, cinema, bar and a restaurant that serves two- and three-course meals. You could easily spend an entire weekend here and never feel bored or confined.

Not to be confused with the Yorkshire town, this Barnsley is a tiny little village in the Cotswolds characterised by stone walls and pocket-sized cottages. The hotel itself feels like the centrepiece of the settlement, with its romantic architecture and four acres of blossoming gardens marking the perimeter. Famed gardener Rosemary Verey designed the green space, and visitors flock from around the world to see it. That in mind, it would be reasonable to assume that the outside rather outshines the inn (get it?), but the hotel does plenty to keep you interested once you step inside. Gardening and nature permeate the style of the rooms, with watering cans and other paraphernalia repurposed as decor, and big panoramic views. As you might expect, most of the vegetables served in the Potager restaurant are from the garden’s own patch (when the season allows for it), and almost everything else is sourced from nearby as well, including the spirits used at the warm and inviting cocktail bar.

Norfolk has the benefit of being a bit of a self-contained paradise, with a huge band of coastline, wide-ranging stretches of country and thick forest all ready to be explored. The Norfolk Mead is well calibrated to this, within easy driving distance of the Broads, the coastline, Norwich and Thetford Forest. Boat hire and picnic hampers are offered at the front desk and most of the staff are seasoned locals with plenty more handy advice. The rooms are split between the main house and freestanding units, and in either case there’s an abundance of space and light, and you’ll likely also catch more than a few glimpses of the shaggy cows which graze the grounds.

Cragwood is every bit what you’d expect from an Edwardian mansion-turned Lake District haunt. Easily accessible via A-road, but private enough to avoid the bustle of tourism even during high season, it doesn’t blind you with ostentation, but retains enough to still feel immersive, like an agreeable halfway point between a period drama and reality. Lawns and formal gardens mark the border, and there’s a private shoreline where you can hop on a boat, and a few different sitting rooms with the obligatory fireplaces to choose from. Formal dinners and casual menus are offered, and the rooms are big, open-plan affairs which, on the ground floor, all have private terraces.