The best b&bs in the Cotswolds for a weekend break in this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

This untrumpeted gem of a b&b is in a picturesque yet robust Cotswold village and offers three bedrooms in old stables and a former barn – they’re devised so guests can come and go as they please without intruding on the owners. It’s a dreamy place with extensive gardens and a wonderful outlook. Owner Ingrid is on hand to welcome guests and provide advice over local activities. But equally she knows that they like their own space – and scope to make their own discoveries. Breakfast takes place in the dining room of the main house. There’s a buffet spread of fruits, cereals and yogurts, with egg options that Ingrid cooks to order.

East House is a handsome 18th-century property with mullion windows and old stone fireplaces. It has been beautifully devised as a boutique b&b and has a particularly tranquil setting in one of the most famously attractive villages in the Cotswolds. An outside wall is inscribed with the date 1759, although parts of the property are thought to be about 100 years older. Owners Lauren and Andrew O’Hara have devised this very much as a luxury retreat. They provide complimentary champagne on arrival (or will bring glasses up to your room), and they leave decanters of port and whisky by the fireplace for guests to help themselves. The breakfast menu presents a choice of everything from muesli to smoked salmon and scrambled eggs.

Iris McCormick’s terrace townhouse is well placed for walks along the Cotswold Way and for touring the core of the Cotswolds. It’s a friendly and very comfy b&b that isn’t trying to be a boutique outfit, and which is proud of its Green Tourism accreditation. The three bedrooms (one with four-poster, one with double bed, and one with twins) are small. En-suite bathrooms have been dexterously squeezed in. Comfort is considered key: there are high quality mattresses and power showerheads. Breakfast is a great spread of yogurts, mueslis, fruit, breads and with eggs served to order.

This former school only closed in 1996, and has since been converted into a delightful and efficiently run b&b. Cookery writer Wendy Veale has devised a well-appointed wing for guests and will arrange everything from theatre tickets to car hire and horse stabling on request. The old hall has been turned into generous facilities entirely for guests – a big dining room downstairs, a generous sitting room above. So there is no sense of intruding into a home here. This is an impeccably spick and span operation, with fresh flowers in the bedrooms, daily papers in the dining room, and a computer to use on the first-floor landing. Breakfasts are epicurean.

This suave and elegant two-bedroom b&b is about three minutes’ walk from the gates of Blenheim Palace. The Glove House is in the heart of Woodstock, not far from the dreaming spires of Oxford. It has a charming garden and offers sumptuous breakfasts and a genial welcome from its Italian host, Francesco. The gracious, mid-terrace property dates back to the 1600s, and during the Victorian era contained a workshop making gloves, hence the name. There’s a breakfast buffet spread of cereals, bircher muesli, stewed fruit and yoghurts. Cooked options range from locally made sausages and to Francesco’s speciality of Strapazzato – Italian-style scrambled eggs made with Parmesan.

This spectacular property in picturesque Broadway was the centre of a significant artist colony in the late 19th century when it was home to the American painter Frank Millet. His friends John Singer Sergeant and Henry James were among the visitors here. The building is ancient (dating from about 1320) and the four bedrooms are sumptuous – complete with four-posters. There’s a parkland garden, croquet lawn, tennis court and even helipad. Epicurean breakfast is served in the terrific vaulted Great Hall.