This Grade II-listed baroque country house is not too far from the M5 but you'd never realise it. On a fine summer's night, take a drink on the terrace and enjoy the exquisite country setting. Inside, the surroundings are stunning. The Duke of Wellington provides the theme, with the bedrooms named after his battles and the restaurant called, Wellesley.

Beef Wellington is inevitable on the classically-inclined menu, there served with dauphinoise and a thyme sauce, and other main courses might take in grilled Dover sole with hollandaise, roast rack of lamb with roast potatoes, and char grilled chicken breast with turned vegetables and a port infusion. Crab (in a tian with aubergine and peppers), foie gras, and scallops (roasted and set on broccoli puree) are the sort of up-market ingredients used for starters, with orange and Grand Marnier soufflé with blood orange sorbet, or chocolate fondant with pistachio ice cream among luxurious puddings. Table d'hote in the evening is £29.95, while the lunch menus offer excellent value.