A field guide to the small inns, country houses and city boltholes worth a longer drive — written for travellers who would rather arrive late than stay somewhere ordinary.
Past the last roundabout, where the hedgerows close in and the sea finally appears, Cornwall hides a handful of inns that reward the patient.
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A great breakfast room is its own argument for staying somewhere small. Here is what separates the memorable from the merely edible.
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The grand country house has loosened its collar. The best rural manors now feel like staying with very tasteful, very rich friends.
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Some buildings are organised around a staircase, others around a view. The inns I love best are organised around the fire.
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We remember a handful of places for the rest of our lives. Here is my attempt to work out what they all had in common.
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The grand chains line Princes Street, but the city's real character lives in its townhouse boltholes up the side streets.
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You can usually tell within ten minutes whether a small hotel was designed by someone who has actually stayed in hotels.
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Slow travel asks less of your suitcase than you think. The trick is packing for the days, not for the photographs.
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A two-hour lunch with nowhere to be afterward is one of travel's purest pleasures. Small inns are built for it.
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Everyone goes in August. The people who really know these places go in the wet, quiet months, and they are right to.
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