The ObserverWalking holidaysIf the winter has left you feeling sluggish, shake off the cobwebs with a ramble through stunning scenery followed by a cosy bed and a well-earned dinner in one of Britain's best rural hidewaysRustic luxe
1. Monachyle Mhor, Lochearnhead, Perthshire
1At the end of a single-track road on Loch Voil, this gem of a hotel is in the heart of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park (lochlomond-trossachs.org). There are 14 rooms in the old stone farmhouse and its outbuildings, all with cutting-edge funky design. Four have their own steam rooms – ideal for aching, post-yomp muscles. Dinner offers the best of what's in the garden or the market, and for breakfast there are kippers, Scottish smoked haddock or Cumberland sausages, with eggs from the farm. Ask for hiking suggestions, and order a packed lunch the evening before.
01877 384622; mhor.net; doubles from £115, including breakfast
2. The Grove, Narberth, Pembrokeshire
Once derelict and overgrown, this 18th-century country house is now a stunning boutique hotel. The six rooms are beautifully decorated with silk fabrics and Asian art. Dinner is served in the elegant wood-panelled dining room (or the new garden room at the rear), with dishes such as slow-roast leg of rabbit, and roast aubergine with sticky risotto. It's 15 minutes' drive to the seaside town of Tenby on the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path (pcnpa.org.uk).
01834 860915; thegrove-narberth.co.uk; doubles from £130, including breakfast
3. The Samling, Windermere, Lake District
With no reception desk, no bar ("just help yourself to drinks in the lounge, sir") and no need to get dressed for breakfast (a full English wheeled into your room is the norm), The Samling – in the heart of the Lake District National Park – feels more like staying at some affluent friend's country abode. There are 11 rooms, all sumptuously decorated and all bar one boast views of Lake Windermere. It has an award-winning restaurant – just what the doctor ordered after a long ramble (lakedistrict.gov.uk).
01539 431922; thesamlinghotel.co.uk; doubles from £190, including breakfast
4. Whitehouse, Chillington, South Devon
Housed in a pretty white Georgian building, this boutique hotel mixes five-star vintage glamour with homely relaxation – think crystal chandeliers alongside funky oversized lamps and pop-art paintings, all of which you can admire curled up on comfy sofas. There's a restaurant serving top-notch locally sourced fare, and six spacious bedrooms, with rain showers in their bathrooms. It's a short drive to East Prawle and Salcombe, which are on the South West Coastal Path (southwestcoastpath.com) – ask for maps and a picnic hamper.
01548 580505; whitehousedevon.com; doubles from £180, including breakfast
5. Ffynnon, Dolgellau, Gwynedd
Stylish and intimate, with just four rooms and one suite, this boutique B&B is a revamped Victorian rectory mixing antique furnishings with sleek, modern design. Its location is unbeatable, at the foothills of the Snowdonia National Park (visitsnowdonia.info): return from an ascent of Cader Idris and head to the butler's pantry and honesty bar, before having a soak in the outdoor hot tub (heated all year) and an in-room massage. There's no restaurant, but there's room service (6-10pm) for light meals, and a booking service for local restaurants.
01341 421774; ffynnontownhouse.com; doubles from £125, including breakfast
Mountain classics
6. Clachaig Inn, Glencoe, Scottish Highlands
Step into Clachaig any afternoon and you'll find a huddle of hillwalkers and climbers in the Boots Bar in front of the real fire swigging ale and swapping stories of scaling the mountains of Glencoe (glencoescotland.com). With a strong selection of ales, 160 varieties of malt whisky and regular live music, the bar is the heart and soul of the inn, though the rooms (23 in all) are pleasant enough.
01855 811252; clachaig.com; doubles from £40, including breakfast
7. Pen-y-Gwryd, Nant Gwynant, Gwynedd
This historic and slightly eccentric climbing inn on the flank of the Snowdon massif has been popular with mountaineers for decades (it was the training base for the 1953 Everest expedition). In the same family for 50 years, it has 15 doubles and one single (five with private bathrooms) – and no locks on the doors. After hiking through Snowdonia (visitsnowdonia.info), unwind in the outdoor sauna and feast on a hearty home-cooked supper (announced by a gong). It's open from January to the end of October (weekends only in January and February)
01286 870211; pyg.co.uk; doubles from £40, including breakfast
8. The Wasdale Head Inn, Nr Gosforth, Cumbria
Hailed as "the birthplace of climbing", this has to be one of the most spectacularly located inns in the UK, overlooked by the stunning peaks of Great Gable, Pillar, and Kirkfell (lake-district-guides.co.uk/walksmountain). It makes a great base for a few days' mountaineering, which can be arranged by Above the Line, a company (operating from the pub) that offers guided trips to, for example, Napes Needle, claimed as the site of the first British rock-climb, in 1886. The inn has nine tasteful bedrooms, and the dining room provides for the heartiest appetite (just leave enough room for the rum-and-raisin cheesecake).
019467 26229; wasdaleheadinn.co.uk; doubles from £118, including breakfast. Climbing days cost £150, including guide
9. Skirrid Mountain Inn, Nr Abergavenny, Monmouthshire
Right on the border of the Brecon Beacons National Park, near the Black Mountains (breconbeacons.org), this inn is said to be the oldest public house in Wales, dating back over 900 years. Refuel on home-cooked food like local gammon steak and pork loin in cider, shoot some pool and listen out for last orders rung by an old ship's bell, before retreating to your simply furnished bedroom. If you hear a thud in the night it'll be one of the resident ghosts.
01873 890258; skirridmountaininn.co.uk; doubles from £90, B&B
10. Macdonald Hotel, Kinlocheven, Argyll
Not to be confused with the plush Macdonald hotel chain, this basic walkers' hotel is at the foot of the Mamore Mountains, just metres from the West Highland Way, which extends from Glasgow to Fort William (west-highland-way.co.uk). It has 10 bedrooms, nine four-bunk all-season cabins, a restaurant selling Highland pub grub and a Bothy Bar. It even has laundry facilities, so you can wash your kit for the next day.
01855 831539; macdonaldhotel.co.uk; doubles from £54, including breakfast; cabins from £10pp, room only
No car required
11. Hotel Terravina, New Forest, Hampshire
Just a 10-minute taxi ride from Ashurst station, and right in the heart of the New Forest, with good walks from the door (thenewforest.co.uk), this hotel makes for a perfect car-free break. It has 11 rooms that are smart and stylish, but the main draw is the fine-dining restaurant and amazing wine cellar.
023 8029 3784; hotelterravina.co.uk; doubles from £135, room only
12. The Austwick Traddock, Austwick, North Yorkshire
Check into this charming, informally run Georgian house – a seven-minute taxi ride from Settle train station – and you can set off for a hike through the Yorkshire Dales National Park from the doorstep (yorkshiredales.org.uk). Come home to a slap-up dinner in the candlelit, stone-walled restaurant, which has been certified 100% organic by the Soil Association. There are plenty of organic wines to warm the cockles.
01524 251224; austwicktraddock.co.uk; doubles from £90, including breakfast
13. Windlestraw Lodge, Nr Walkerburn, Scottish Borders
Hop on a bus from Edinburgh's central bus station, and in 45 minutes you'll be dropped at the end of the lodge's drive, in the heart of Tweed Valley. The grand Edwardian house has just six rooms – most of which boast splendid views – plus a bar stocked with speciality whiskies, and a wood-panelled restaurant with log fire. The Southern Upland Way (southernuplandway.gov.uk) runs through the valley; the hotel can suggest routes, and supply a packed lunch.
01896 870636; windlestraw.co.uk; doubles from £130, including breakfast
14. The Peacock at Rowsley, Derbyshire
Step inside this 400-year-old manor house – in the middle of the Peak District National Park, 20 minutes by taxi from Chesterfield station – and you'll find some serious style: plush velvet chairs, lambswool rugs, funky wallpaper and antique furniture. The five rooms have been individually designed (many have fireplaces, and number three has an antique bed from Belvoir Castle), and an award-winning restaurant. Don your hiking boots and get walking right from the door (peakdistrict.gov.uk).
01629 733518; thepeacockatrowsley.com; doubles from £145, including breakfast
15. Linthwaite House Hotel, Windermere, Lake District
A family residence until 1969, this Edwardian house still has a relax-you're-at-home vibe: after a day on the crags of the Old Man of Coniston (lakedistrict.gov.uk/walking), head straight for the lakeside conservatory with its sink-into sofas and roaring fires. All 32 rooms are contemporary chic, and there's a top-notch restaurant serving hearty four-course suppers. There are Lakeside strolls from the front door, or classic ascents a taxi ride away (a local guide can be arranged). The nearest train station is Windermere (two miles by taxi or on foot), reached by a connecting train from Oxenholme, near Kendal.
015394 88600; linthwaite.com; doubles from £139, including breakfast
Pubs with rooms
16. Lord Poullet Arms, Hinton St George, Somerset
Tucked away in the chocolate-box village of Hinton St George, this old stone inn ticks all the right boxes: it's wonderfully cosy, with beams, open fires, fat leather armchairs and stacks of newspapers. The food is hearty and homemade (it was voted Dining Pub of the Year in the 2009 Good Pub Guide), from the braised ox tongue and pollock to the Somerset lamb casserole. Upstairs, there are four bedrooms, with exposed stone and antique beds. A 20-minute drive west lie the Blackdown Hills (blackdownhillsaonb.org.uk).
01460 73149; lordpoulettarms.com; doubles from £95, including breakfast
17. The Olive Branch, Clipsham, Rutland
This rustic gastropub has a Michelin star, so the food is superb, with dishes from confit duck leg to fish and chips and chocolate brownies. The six bedrooms, at Beech House across the lane, are stylish and comfortable, with goose down duvets, flat-screen TVs, Roberts radios and plush bathrooms. There are many walks in Rutland, through tiny villages, little-known tracks and country lanes, including the famous Macmillan Way, 20 minutes from the pub (discover-rutland.co.uk).
01780 410355; theolivebranchpub.com; doubles from £100, including breakfast
18. Bushmills Inn, Bushmills, Co Antrim
This 17th-century coaching inn is just the kind of place you want to reach after a blustery day on the Giant's Causeway coastline (giantscausewayofficialguide.com) or the Ulster Way (walkni.com/ulsterway), both of which run along the coast just down the road. Wonderfully rustic – all panelling, beams and oil lamps – the inn comes into its own at night: sup a Guinness on a rocking chair in front of the turf fire, feast on Ulster beef or steaming seafood chowder in the restaurant, which is made up of wooden booths in what was once the stables, and listen to a folk band in the bar (Saturday nights only). There are 41 elegant bedrooms in the old inn and the 10-year-old extension.
028 2073 3000; bushmillsinn.com; doubles from £138, including breakfast
19. The Felin Fach Griffin, Brecon, Powys
A hiking boot's throw from the Brecon Beacons, this country inn is as homely as pubs get: all timber beams, squashy leather sofas, weekend papers and crackling fires (and the landlord lets you make your own toast on the Aga at breakfast). There are seven small but cosy bedrooms, some with four-posters. Refuel after your hike up Pen y Fan – the highest red sandstone summit in Britain (breconbeacons.org) – on gastro-pub fare: fish delivered daily from the coast, Herefordshire pork and to-die-for desserts, such as wine-poached pears with Welsh cream.
01874 620111; eatdrinksleep.ltd.uk; doubles from £110, including breakfast
20. The Inn at Grinshill, Shropshire
This is a delightful, 18th-century family-run bolthole. Take your pick from the oak-panelled family room with rugs and games, the bar with its crackling fire, real ales and buzzy atmosphere, and the dining room, flooded with light courtesy of glazed coach-house arches. The six rooms are country chic, with king-size beds and sunken baths. As for the walking, Shropshire has more than 3,500 miles of rights of way, many of which are just a short drive from the hotel (shropshiretourism.co.uk/walking).
01939 220410; theinnatgrinshill.co.uk; doubles from £120, including breakfast
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaKyilsOmuI5rZ2poX5%2Bur3uSamawmZygtq%2BzjKGmrZ2cqHq6u9GkqqGhopp6uK3LnqpmrKKWw6a4