The moat may have been converted into a garden, but drawbridge, portcullis, gate towers & curtain walls are intact – for a good dose of history with your dinner look no further than this striking 900-year-old castle-turned-posh-hotel. The 12th-century Queen’s Room with its impressive barrel-vaulted ceiling delivers food that’s casually modern: witness roast quail with hazelnut, beetroot & peach salad with essence of beetroot, followed by john dory with lyonnaise potatoes, razor clams & smoked milk foam, & macerated figs served with a spice cake filled with fig jam & a smooth armagnac mousse for dessert. There’s an excellent wine list to match.