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

The setting is magical: travel back in time. You sweep down the drive, then spin up to a magnificent 14th-century manor house. You're deep in the country with 800 acres of woodland and pasture around you; a medieval carp pond plays host to visiting ducks. The house is built of pink Herefordshire stone and it shines inside and out. Through the ancient oak door find timber frames, old beams, mullioned windows, the odd panelled wall. Some Victorian refinements were made in Arts & Crafts style, now 21st-century comforts have been added. Downstairs is a dining-room hall, a fabulous sitting room, and a well-stocked kitchen where you cook on an Aga. Bedrooms upstairs fit the bill perfectly. One is enormous, another has a barrel-vaulted ceiling, all are lovely, with fine bathrooms and robes to pad about in. Next-door Dansey house – equally dreamy – can interconnect for bigger parties; its terrace overlooks the moat. There's tennis, walking, you can hire bikes nearby, and if you want to be thoroughly spoiled, a chef will come to cook for you. Wordsworth stayed here, too.