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This wonderfully warm and friendly Jacobean Manor House on the fringe of Bradford-on-Avon and 8 miles from Bath offers the formality that goes hand in hand with comfortable living, without impeding enjoyment and relaxation. A proper dining room is the perhaps the choice for a chilly evening. Next stage is a Victorian conservatory and finally, in summer, the beautiful grounds surrounding the Manor, giving a new meaning to informal eating. This might take the form of pressed duck terrine with parma ham, crab apple and rosemary jelly to start, followed by roasted monktail with Mediterranean vegetables, tapenade and olive mash. To complete try the apple soufflé with an apple crumble ice-cream.

Country house hotels when they are good are often very good. Widbrook Grange, a 250 year old Georgian example of the genre, is convenient for Bath, comfortably located in its own 11 acres on the outskirts of  Bradford-upon-Avon.

Within easy striking distance there are many of the facilities that people on tour are pleased to find, including a decent restaurant called The Medlar Tree (you'll find the real tree in the garden) that is open to all.

The menu is extensive but convincing and changes with the seasons. For starters think in terms of gently poached rock oysters served with a strawberry Hollandaise sauce, or a warm salad of Widbrook Grange oak smoked duck on a sweet corn pancake with a balsamic vinegar glaze.

Main courses normally number about five and could include seared sea trout on Bromham asparagus and crushed Jersey Royals with a lemon balm butter, or fillet of Lackham beef, fondant potato and locally picked wild mushroom with a pink peppercorn dressing.

Country house desserts often seem to have that special something, witness summer fruit pavlova with clotted Devon cream, or homemade ice cream and sorbet in a honey tuille basket. An interesting wine list carries a number of half bottles and by the glass.

Reviewed as one of the countries top fifty gastropubs by The Guardian, The Tollgate specialises in local produce under the watchful and very crative hand of Chef/Proprietor Alexander Venables, with all local produce being used. Fresh fish delivered daily from Brixham, this two AA Rosetted pub with four luxury en-suited rooms, rated as four red AA diamonds, is well worth a visit. The atmosphere is very relaxed but the service is friendly and efficient.

In the upstairs dining room eager guests are regaled with classic dishes, touched by a Mediterranean wand of magic to varying degrees. Everything is produced on the premises down to the daily bread baked on the premises to their own ice creams, and fresh pasta. Good real ales on offer from local breweries, the total selection of real ales on offer changes twice a week, this is combined with an excellent wine list from all corners of the globe with nine by the glass and prices from £2.95 for 175ml.

The rooms on offer there are beautifully decorated and are all en-suite they are priced from £75 per room per night to £95 per room per night this is for the room for two including full English breakfast and complementary beverages in the rooms along with daily papers and fresh fruit. The Tollgate Inn does not cater for children, making this is a haven for tranquil dining, relaxed overnight stays and general peace and quiet without any children to annoy you.

The Tollgate Inn was awarded the coveted title of National Catering Pub of the Year 2004 and won The Gold Medal for "Taste of the West" Wiltshire Pub of The Year.

Fat Fowl occupies the original site of Bradford on Avon's post office and delights customers with its interior of muted colours, wooden furniture and an abundance of fresh flowers in the restaurant and conservatory. The Parisian terrace allows for guests to enjoy al fresco dining during the summer months and when the colder nights draw in the staff are happy to supply rugs to keep the chill at bay.

Pop in for a cup of morning coffee or a pleasing meal of rustic and provincial dishes where you could find potted brown shrimps or a pig cheek potato cake with creamed onions to start off, and red legged partridge with puy lentils, or bourride of grey mullet, confit fennel, saffron potatoes and aioli as mains from a weekly changing menu.

A rustic tapas bar called The Roost complements the restaurant. Visit them when you have time and linger over tasty snacks, good wine, conversation and live jazz. Expect to find chicken peri peri, oriental beef, saffron risotto and shellfish, a charcuterie selection and homemade breads.