Special Places to Stay - More than a bed for the night

Deliciously rural: views soar over the valley, night skies blaze with stars and you can saunter across the field to picnic by the river Dove. It was in this 1750s Georgian manor that George Eliot penned Adam Bede; now it's a delightful country getaway with pecking chickens, the odd sheep, and horses peeking over stable doors. The front wing is yours, with a sun terrace and garden fringed by roses, shrubs and veg. Inside, lovely to warm your toes by the log burner in a properly traditional, sash-windowed drawing room with exquisite fabrics, wingback chairs and horsey ornaments. High-ceilinged bedrooms are just as gracious: beds are top quality, bathrooms new, paintings bucolic, views supreme. Stylish black and cream kitchenware adds a retro touch to the family kitchen; a picnic hamper begs to be used. There is no noise bar country noises, no people bar Kim and her family in the east wing. Hugely friendly, she'll greet you with cream tea or G&T, and can do breakfasts with home-laid eggs. Find antiques, boutiques and good food in Ashbourne – and walks galore, whether a riverside stroll or the Derbyshire Peaks.