Located in the rolling valleys on the edge of the Cotswolds is this peach of a hotel with a restaurant to match. Husband and wife team Mark and Sue Stinchcombe run the kitchen and pride themselves on sourcing the best of local ingredients to create a stimulating modern British menu, including produce from their own orchard, farm, vegetable and herb garden. Mark won Masterchef: The Professionals in 2015 so you know you are in good hands at Eckington Manor. Start with local asparagus with truffle mayonnaise, hazelnuts, Parmesan and cured pork, and follow with stone bass with wild garlic gnocchi and a red pepper, tomato and almond pesto, and finish with rhubarb soufflé and gingerbread ice cream. Come the weekend there’s a cracking Sunday lunch, but some people find that afternoon tea (Thursday to Saturday) with finger sandwiches, scones and eclairs is more the ticket.