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Home Farm is one of those delightful Devon farmhouses that for one reason or another has re-invented itself as a place to stay, eat and enjoy, and in this case has done it very well. Dating from the 16th century, the surrounding buildings have also been incorporated, but the dining room is in the house with the inglenook fireplace taking centre stage. Located on the A35 only minutes from Axminster and Honiton, Home Farm is easy to find and makes a good place to stop for lunch, or to use as base for a holiday in this most favoured county. Head Chef Lee Villiers has been in charge of the kitchens for most of his 14 years at Home Farm where he has gained a reputation for successfully championing local produce through largely British cuisine. A light and airy dining room is a delight.

Working from an a la carte menu, a choice of five dishes could include home made soup of the day with a mini Welsh rarebit and herb oil, salmon sausages poached in white wine and served on braised leeks with herb butter or devilled kidneys in spicy lamb stock with diced tomato on an English muffin. Slow roasted belly pork with baked Somerset apple, pickled red cabbage and mash provides a good filling dish with the baked apple nicely off-setting the red cabbage and apple. A West Country sirloin steak coated with mustard and brown sugar is always welcome, competing with pan-fried Devon duck breast that has been glazed with honey, served with that old favourite bubble and squeak, and bramble sauce.
Vegetarians are not forgotten and a medley of mushrooms and garlic is leavened with cayenne pepper and double cream and baked with a savoury oat crumble.

Devon? Fish? do I hear you cry? But of course, think fillet of brill, pan-fried and topped with crab butter and Tarragon sauce, or the ever popular deep fried haddock with luscious handcut chips and tartare sauce. Honiton may not have the sea lapping at its boundaries but spare a thought for that classic dish the whole lemon sole, grilled on the bone and served with just the right amount of parsley butter. Desserts resort to the refreshingly traditional with Trinity burnt cream, Eton mess and spotted dick, not forgetting a brilliant steamed syrup sponge, and the old favourite, an English apple pie.

A delightful Elizabethan house surrounded by a picturesque estate of vast acreage. Combe House is a real haven. The produce of the countryside manifests itself upon the table in more delicate form after it has passed through the transformation process brought about by Philip Leach and his team.

You could start with the sautéed langoustine tails, with tarragon tortelli and ginger infused broth. Roast squab pigeon and a cep ravioli with seared foie gras follows well and to complete, the coffee panna cotta with a warm cinnamon doughnut and Baileys ice cream takes some beating.

The Hunts are renowned for the contents of their ancient cellars with well over one hundred bins and some very fair house wines sold at upwards of £17.50 a bottle.

The Belfry, a privately owned and run Devon hotel, is renowned for its adaptability and excels when it comes to providing custom built parties for, say, family groups who want to take over the hotel. Owners Paul and Katie Blake make the ideal pair for running a country house hotel of this quality and also open the restaurant to non-residents from Wednesday to Saturday.

Starters feature baked goat's cheese with a hazelnut crust, served with the red onion marmalade made in house, homemade fishcakes and for those who love the old staples, an omelette Arnold Bennett.

Main courses have character and can include pan-fried organic Orkney salmon served with lime butter and fresh herbs, the local lamb, pot roasted with red onions, redcurrants and red wine, or some of the local seabass, filleted, seared and roasted with fresh rosemary and finished with cream.

Puddings are designed to challenge and range from panettone bread and butter pudding, through chocolate and orange spotted dick topped with clotted cream, to individual steamed puddings with golden syrup and clotted cream. Fortunately large areas of attractive moorland in the form of the Blackdown Hills are to hand for those wishing to work out after such indulgence.