Augill Castle

Other country residences may use and abuse the title, but Augill is an honest-to-goodness, straight-up castle, in the best Victorian Gothic style, built as a rustic-retreat-with-knobs-on in 1837 and run as a B&B since 1998 by Simon and Wendy Bennett, whose family home it remains. Their children have grown up here, which partly explains the extremely informal air – wellies by the door, family pets, kids’ games in the grounds and a general make-yourself-at-home welcome.

They pitch themselves as a "B&B with a lot of extra bells and whistles", which basically means some very agreeable rooms and suites that make full use of the castle surroundings – your own private turret here, stained glass there, sturdy but not scary antique furniture, a sherry decanter in every room and wonderfully big baths. A lavish communal breakfast is taken around an enormous oak dining table, while country dinners have a similar house-party atmosphere, with the kids being given an earlier High Tea and then whisked off for games or movies and popcorn.

It’s a pretty singular place all-round, from scratching chickens and adventure activities in the grounds to a very handsome library bar where you’re encouraged to pour your own drinks. You’ll be hard-pressed to leave. One geographical note: Augill is just outside the market town of Kirkby Stephen which is as near as dammit in the Dales – just a few miles from lovely Swaledale and remote Arkengarthdale – but technically in Cumbria, hence the postcode.