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Link the culinary expertise of David Sargent, formerly of The Mirabelle in London, the top rated restaurant owned by Marco Pierre White, with the oldest pub in Britain, The Royalist, and you have a recipe for success. 947AD, The Eagle and Child and The Royalist are really all one happy family working flat out to entertain and succour families who may not be all that happy on arrival but certainly are by the time they leave. By subtle handling the full blown families are guided towards the Eagle and Child, the finer points of dining are a priority in 947AD and everyone else congregates in The Royalist.

In 947AD the emphasis is on first class food in relaxed and comfortable surroundings, insulated from the ruderies of the world we inhabit for much of our time. An elegant menu offers a good range of starters including a rillette of crab and home smoked haddock with pimento and poached quail egg, a mille feuille of roast quail and apple compote with a Madeira jus, or a terrine of confit duck and foie gras with prune and roquette salad.

Main courses follow the same enterprising pattern and a roast halibut fillet with warm Nicoise salad and caviar will be a first stop for many. A Cornish lobster with butternut pumpkin and lemon grass risotto comes close and the roast lamb chump with ratatouille, feta and rosemary should keep the carnivores more than happy.

Red berry soufflé with strawberry ice cream makes a good combination of flavours and colours, and much the same could be said of warm poached cherries with mint mascarpone, though if all else fails there's always the 947AD Grande Assiette.

The décor is a well thought-through blend of old and new, though connoisseurs of the old and creaking (furnishings that is), may be disappointed at first. A worldly wine list completes the picture and is the final reassurance of a memorable experience to come.

The Manor at Lower Slaughter, a magnificent country house with its roots deep in Cotswold history, offers a timeless atmosphere rich in tradition and with a hint of the theatrical that makes a visit there an occasion to remember. A manor house occupied the site before the Norman conquest and the present house was largely rebuilt in 1658 by Valentine Strong, chief stonemason for St Paul's Cathedral under Sir Christopher Wren. Country house features such as flowers, substantial drapings, candlelight, comfortable furniture made for real people rather than midgets - you get the picture?

The food follows an up to date approach with time honoured dishes, some given a modern boost, but seldom out of recognition, all served with a flourish by staff who give every appearance of enjoying their work, probably because they have been trained how to do it, thus confidence follows. Chef David Kelman is more than playing his part in bringing this splendid hotel back to life. So also is the cellar with its stock of around six hundred carefully selected wines from round the whole world. No children under twelve years old.

Formerly of the King's Arms, of the same parish, Peter and Louise Robinson have moved from the world of award-studded gastropubs to something rather different where the priorities and the mechanics of the place are geared to another pace, perhaps best illustrated by the designation of dining room, rather than restaurant.

Emphasis is very much on local produce, an expression of will carried to extremes in some quarters, not least the chef patron who takes much pride in his herd of Gloucester Old Spot pigs, with whom he has regular re-unions in the kitchen, where every last part is put to good use. Unusual sharing dishes could include côte de boeuf or possibly a line caught sea bass weighing in at about one and half pounds.

Local affiliations do not prevent a few flutters into the unusual, particularly where the Orient is concerned. A typical menu could field Cornish scallops with chorizo, rack of lamb boulangère with garlic and parsley sauce, followed by classic burnt ginger creams, or a Turkish yogurt cake with passion fruit curd.

There is also a nice system of barter that enables the local gardeners to take in garden fruits or vegetables in return for a pat on the back, a glass of wine and a mention on the menu maybe.

The inn carries the whiff of community about it, locals or passers-by are equally welcome - and the food and drink are of the most genuine.

Another of those wonderful old country houses that have passed from private ownership to become havens of peace and comfort for a wider audience. The menu will suit those who have a preference for good recognisable, possibly even comfort food, and it is certainly none the worse for that.

Starters could include a warm pigeon salad with bacon and walnuts, progressing to a grilled lemon sole with citrus and caper sauce or slow roasted half shoulder of lamb with honey and mint. Desserts include several of the usual suspects, amongst them brown bread ice cream, sticky toffee pudding and a good combination of cheeses.

The Kings Arm, a rather resplendent Gloucestershire pub with rooms, is one of those wonderful survivals, some 500 years old, mullioned windows, welcoming interior, particularly now that it has been given a good shake-up and decorated in a way which encourages thoughts of long lunches, lazy afternoons and general indulgence.

The result is that people now flock to their doors to enjoy dishes that certainly qualify under the modern European banner but are sufficiently recognisable as to entice and please as any other comfort food. A squid, lime and coriander salad competed well with the crab salad and celeriac remoulade though some might wish they had settled for the duck confit with baked figs. Portions are generous, prices are well adjusted to the part of the world, which takes us to the main courses where, for generous, read enormous. Seriously, beware because the puddings are worthwhile and it would be a shame to have become hors de combat by the time you reached that point.

For those who like their lamb shank, this is undoubtedly the place to be. It's all the things that a successful lamb shank should be, even if you are tempted by the Gloucester Old Spot pork or the grilled wild seatrout. Those of you who have braved the delights of a certain theme park in the Midlands will be familiar, if not actually intimate with the gut-wrenching Nemesis - well, at Stow-on-the-Wold they do it in chocolate form. Which has the greater effect is anybody's guess, but if in doubt play safe and settle for the grilled figs with Greek yoghurt.

Service is commendable, and a sensible wine list completes the pleasure.

Taking its name from the black Hamburg grapes which suspend seductively above you as you dine in the Conservatory restaurant, the Grapevine is well sited in the centre of the town that styles itself 'the antiques centre of the Cotswolds'. So after a hard day's bargaining you may be more than usually ready for a little tender culinary care, where cheerful staff and agreeable surroundings smooth your cares away.

A smoked duck and fig salad with truffle dressing leads off a selection of attractive starters that include a terrine of foie gras and confit duck, Thai spiced beetroot soup and that sturdy favourite a Caesar salad with anchovies, smoked chicken and parmesan. The roast monkfish with confit cabbage and wild mushrooms creates a good flavour-mix, and pan-fried calves liver with crispy bacon and mashed potato are hardy favourites, though not always prepared quite as carefully as these are at the Grapevine. In the pudding department the simple chocolate and honey brulee served with coconut ice cream sets a high standard on which to complete an enjoyable meal before beginning to worry again about that antique chaise longue you 'invested' in earlier during a carefree moment.