Once a Corporation Toll House, this grand Grade II-listed townhouse has been re-born as an elegant and welcoming boutique hotel in historic Lancaster. The place has had some serious money spent on
it, although many original features have been retained: check out the stunning stained glass windows and the extraordinary light fittings. The open-plan, airy bar and dining room have high
ceilings, polished wooden floors and comfortable, slightly quirky mismatched furniture, but glasses gleam and the linen is snowy white. A crowd-pleasing menu includes corned beef hash with poached
free-range egg, venison hotpot with pickled red cabbage, and sea bass with brown shrimp risotto. Puds are of the rib-sticking variety; you’ll need to have covered some miles before settling down to
a baked, stuffed Bramley apple or Grasmere gingerbread crumble and custard.