You’ll have 12 acres of lush countryside to roam in at Sopwell House, a few miles south of St Albans. This majestic Georgian manor house has been added to over the years and now features 128 stylishly decorated rooms.

A favourite among Londoners who want to wallow in 300 acres under three miles from Watford Tube station, the Grove is an easy escape to the country.

Birch is a country house hotel, but not as you know it. Informality is the key in this place that includes large grounds with an outdoor pool and has a laid-back, festival-style vibe. Inside there’s the Hub, a space to lounge around or, if you must, do some work.

This 18th-century former coaching inn on Berkhamsted High Street is a short walk from the train station — handy for weekend walks along the Grand Union Canal and in the nearby Chiltern Hills.

Spreading across 200 acres just north of Ware — including a championship golf course — Hanbury Manor provides a taste of gracious country life in this grandiose Jacobean manor house.

St Albans Cathedral is less than ten minutes’ walk from St Michael’s Manor Hotel, but this 17th-century townhouse is in its own tranquil spot.

If you’re catching an early flight from nearby London Luton Airport — or, more likely, just want to have a break in the countryside — then Baileys Farm is for you.

Equidistant from Hertford North and Hertford East railway stations, this intimate B&B in a handsome Georgian townhouse is handy for a weekend away in pleasant Hertford.

They know how to put on a party at Fanhams Hall. This sprawling country house hotel combines a medieval hall and Jacobean mansion in a huge Japanese garden that also features a Japanese teahouse — and an Austrian iteration.

Over the years, this 700-acre dairy farm has been transforming itself into a rustic chic complex of rooms, cabins, shepherd's huts, bars, restaurants, a wedding venue and even a cookery school.

What used to be a 16th-century farmhouse once owned by Oliver Cromwell’s secretary is now a stylish spot that, even with 77 rooms, manages to have the feeling of a boutique hotel.

Country walks on your doorstep, a sleepy village, even a dinky village green next door — the dog-friendly Fox has all that plus a pub garden and a smart restaurant serving locally sourced food.

About halfway between Hitchin and Knebworth House, the Farmhouse at Redcoats attracts food lovers who want a chilled-out countryside break.

Spread across 160 acres of gardens outside Hemel Hempstead, Shendish Manor Hotel is handy for Harry Potter fans on a Warner Bros Studio Tour five miles away.