Don't underestimate the importance of finding a good bed and breakfast establishment. Even the most uninspiring of hotels will maintain a polite distance, but at a B&B you may end up eating breakfast with the hosts, admiring their pets and being woken by their children.

Gleaning information in advance is vital, and skimming the tourist board brochure is not necessarily the best way to go about it.

Some sites set out to recommend the very best places to stay, others function more like a directory. In either case, star ratings and objective information may not be apparent, so ask yourself questions - such as, is the bathroom shared? - as you might query an estate agent's brochure.

LeisureHunt
B&B owners register with this international accommodation directory. A search for B&Bs around Tewkesbury returned plenty of results, but the information is minimal.

Bed & Breakfast
More than a thousand recommended British and French B&Bs are listed here. The authors have considerable experience of the trade and their own (somewhat obscure) set of symbols to rate the accommodation. Try www.bed-breakfast-france.com for more ideas.

Special places to stay
Leave plenty of time to explore this revamped site from Alastair Sawday. Listings include hotels and B&Bs across Ireland and several other countries as well as in-depth coverage of the UK and France. An enthralling guide.

KGP
KGP lists more than 650 B&Bs in buildings of special interest such as vicarages, houses with a literary association, and Georgian properties.

Go Ireland
Ireland's national tourist board has details of more than 4,500 B&Bs in both Eire and the North.