The Horseshoe Inn Hotel

Eddleston, Peebles, Scotland

Country walks beckon from this Borders bolthole near Peebles – if you can tear yourself away from the food. In the restaurant (a former smithy) French chef/proprietor Patrick Bardoulet forges Scottish produce and Gallic flair: crispy haggis balls, lamb loin and vanilla-infused sweetbreads; roe deer with an intense, gamey reduction. Sweets include a rainbow of sorbet-filled macarons; petit fours come with candyfloss – very retro. Totter across to the old school house to sleep it off in one of eight pretty, cosy bedrooms (free wi-fi, Molton Brown products) before starting over with breakfast: the porridge with whisky-laced dates is a must. Doubles from £100, including breakfast.