Written from years of trekking around idiosyncratic accommodation in Britain and beyond, Alastair Sawday's Special places to stay guides seek to honour engaging families and individuals who truly open their home to guests, providing a personal touch.
The criteria for inclusion are fluid, but the editors value authenticity, simplicity and an honest approach. The environment is also a key consideration and places offering organic food and locally-sourced produce are given due credit.
Millgate House, Yorkshire
In every room and in every corner of the breathtaking garden, the marriage of natural beauty and sophistication exists in a state of bliss. Four Doric columns at the entrance draw you into the dining room, with its views of Swale Valley. Period furniture, cast-iron baths, myriad prints and paintings mix with dashes of exotica. Price £35pp, single supplement £10
Contact Austin Lynch and Tim Austin
Millgate House
Richmond
Yorkshire DL10 4JN
Tel 01748 823571
www.millgatehouse.com
Penpont, mid-Wales
Sweeping grounds on the River Usk, folded into the Brecon Beacon foothills. Penpont has a relaxed stateliness; great one-table dining room, grand oak staircase and an oak-panelled drawing room. There are large bedrooms, an early 19th century conservatory, tennis courts and fly-fishing. Victorian walled gardens and a maze are undergoing restoration. Overflow for tents.
Price £30-£40pp, children half price
Contact Davina and Gavin Hogg
Penpont
Brecon
Powys LD3 8EU
Tel 01874 636202
www.penpont.com
Chipperkyle, Dumfries
With sociable hosts in this beautiful 18th century Scottish Georgian house there is no hint of formality. Sitting and dining rooms connect through a large arch and there are family pictures and rugs on wooden floors. Bedrooms benefit from elegant linen, masses of light and good books. There are 200 acres, a dog, cat, donkeys and free-ranging hens.
Price £36pp
Contact Willie and Catriona Dickson
Chipperkyle
Castle Douglas
Dumfries & Galloway DG7 3EY
Tel 01556 650223
Craighall Castle, Perthshire
The view from the circular balcony that rings the drawing room is simply stunning and the deep gorge provides fabulous walks. The owners battle to keep up with the needs of the vast impressive home that has been in the family for five centuries and you will forgive in any mustiness. Nothing contrived, sterile or luxurious, but so much drama it could be a film set.
Price £35pp, single supplement £5
Contact Nicky and Lachie Rattray
Craighall Castle
Blairgowrie
Perthshire PH10 7JB
Tel 01250 874749
The Hermitage, Northumberland
Just three miles from Hadrian's Wall, the house is at the end of a long drive, and a stone bridge, surrounded by ancient woodland and birdsong. Large bedrooms are thoughtfully furnished with antiques and lovely prints. Breakfast can be taken on the terrace in the walled garden.
Price £30pp, single supplement £10
Contact Simon and Katie Stewart
The Hermitage
Swinburne
Nr Hexham
Northumberland NE48 4DG
Tel 01434 681248
Botelet, Cornwall
Down a wild-flowered drive in a hidden fold, inland from the Fowey river, this treasure house is a synthesis of style, stone, wood and colour. Simplicity is sprinkled with flowers, candles and printed fabrics. In the garden, goats, chickens and ducks potter happily. Organic breakfasts, home-made biscuits and fresh fish dinners available, along with aromatherapy and reflexology treatments.
Price £25pp, single supplement by arrangement
Contact Richard and Helen Tamblyn
Botelet
Herodsfoot
Liskeard
Cornwall PL14 4RD
Tel 01503 220225
www.botelet.co.uk
The Old House, Gloucestershire
Little has changed in 500 years: only birdsong fractures the peace of the old stone house in the appropriately named hamlet of Calmsden. An alcoved stone fireplace in the living room, wonky floors and beams that go the wrong way are delightful. Unwind in the bedrooms with fat pillows and magazines, but the smell of homemade bread will lure you for breakfast to eat in the wood-panelled dining room.
Price £25-£35pp
Contact Bridget Baxter
The Old House
Calmsden
Nr Cirencester
Gloucestershire GL7 5ET
Tel 01285 831240
Heriot Row, Edinburgh
High on most exalted Georgian escarpment, 19th century mixes with Danish and Middle Eastern styles. Brass beds, burnished pine floors, and a vast hall with a stairway floating regally above a magnificent sitting room; glimpse the castle through the trees. Breakfasts are a full Franco-Scottish affair; oak-smoked salmon and Auvergne jam. Hosts will meet you at the station or take you on a tour - it's relaxed and fun.
Price From £45pp, single £55
Contact Erlend and Helene Clouston
41 Heriot Row
Edinburgh EH3 6ES
Tel 0131 2253113
North Stack, Anglesey (pictured above)
An incredible adventure from the moment you leave your car and are taken in the 4x4 vehicle along cliffs to this isolated outpost on an RSPB reserve. The old Fog House, a former signal station, is now a bird-watching observatory. Hosts are generous with everything, including food. Bedrooms, part of the former keeper's quarters are simple and attractive. Waterproofs, binoculars and advance bookings essential. Painting expeditions on request.
Price £25pp
Contact Phillippa Jacobs
North Stack
c/o 4 Lower Park Street
Holyhead
Anglesey LL65 1DU
Tel 01407 769715
Beara Farmhouse, Devon
The bleat of a lost lamb is the only sound to be heard at the 16th-century, lovingly restored traditional farmhouse. Brick paths, stencilling, stitching and painting are in harmony with the ancient beauty. Restored brass beds are so inviting you can't resist the urge to fall into them, and there's a garden room for breakfast.
Price £25pp, single supplement £5
Contact Ann and Richard Dorsett
Beara Farmland
Buckland Brewer
Bideford
Devon EX39 5EH
Tel 01237 451666
Breakspears Road, London
This is fun! A house-cum-gallery in a conservation area where each room exhibits original, modern art. The bedroom has all the useful things you don't want to lug around - radio, haridryer and alarm clock. Bold colours, wooden floors, huge curtain-less windows and indoor trees. A stylish kitchen boasts an Aga, deck views over the subtropical garden.
Price From £30pp
Contact Biddy Bunzl
57 Breakspears Road
London SE4 1XR
Tel 020 8469 3162
[Updated 21.4.05: this property no longer offers B&B accommodation]
Wilton House, Berkshire
What a welcome, what a place! A classic town house with a Queen Anne fa¿ade and, inside, wood panelling and beams, wonky floors, period furniture and family portraits. Bedrooms are just right and so is breakfast in the 18th-century dining room. Antique shops to the front and walled garden with fruit trees to the rear.
Price £29pp, single supplement £10 Contact Deborah and Jonathan Welfare
Wilton House
33 High Street
Hungerford
Berkshire RG17 0NF
Tel 01488 684228
www.wiltonhouse.freeserve.co.uk
Vine Cottage, Gloucestershire
Once you've arrived at this quintessentially English village, forget about the car; walks on the Cotswolds Way and cycle rides start from your front door. Bedrooms are charming - one terracotta with a star pattern and the other creamy with floral curtains; there's an antique free-standing bath and wooden floors in the bathroom. The breakfast room opens into the garden and the host runs a craft shop in a converted gallery next door with an unusual collection of artefacts.
Price £30pp, single supplement £10
Contact Clare Shaw
Vine Cottage
Paxford
Chipping Campden
Gloucestershire GL55 6XH
[April 14 2003: Please note that Vine Cottage is no longer a B&B.]
Acton Pigot, Shropshire
From the double room, with hand-printed wallpaper and oak chests, you look to Acton Burnell hill, where England's first parliament was held. The yellow room has lovely views of a lake, the garden and the Welsh hills - sunset can be spectacular. Wooden doors, floors, carved settle and chests sit well with elegant furniture. There's a pool and a croquet lawn. Parts of the house were built in 1660; the site is mentioned in the Doomsday book.
Price From £27.50pp
Contact Mrs Hildegard Owen
Acton Pigot
Acton Burnell
Shrewsbury
Shropshire SY5 7HP
Tel 01694 731209
www.actonpigot.co.uk
The Old Methodist Chapel, Suffolk
Atmosphere and architecture blend in this converted Grade II Victorian chapel. Bedrooms are charming - the Stable Room has cream walls, oak floors and wooden beams; the flag-floored Retreat Room is cosy, with bright rugs and bedcovers. An air of tranquillity pervades, from the windchimes in the courtyard garden to breakfast served by the rose window or conservatory. Potions and lotions by the bath, books and flowers in every corner, bacon from the Queen Mother's suppliers.
Price From £27.50pp
Contact Jackum and David Brown
The Old Methodist Chapel
High Street
Yoxford
Suffolk IP17 3EU
Tel 01728 668333
http://www.chapelsuffolk.co.uk
· Special Places to Stay: British Bed and Breakfast, from Alasdair Sawday's publishing, is available from £13.99 paperback.
