At Park House, you get a proper welcome. On a bitterly cold January night, there is a fire glowing in the lounge grate, tea is on if you want a brew and, from Howard and Mary Williams, immediate warm familiarity. Owners dictate a B&B's atmosphere and here there is no diffidence, no standing on ceremony.
The conversation flows (dislike of hot tubs, decoding TripAdvisor reviews, Manchester pubs – we cover a lot of ground) as does laughter. Georgian Park House has a spruce split-level garden out back, which includes a little sun terrace. As I admire it, Howard laments, dryly, that, in rain-lashed east Lancashire, last summer it was "never used".
The Williams are experienced hospitality professionals. They used to own a contemporary B&B in Pitlochry, Perthshire, which was chic and minimalist. It shows. For all Park House's period features, there is no clutter. Smart modern fabrics sit alongside gleaming coal scuttles. There are grand old clocks in the breakfast room, but you open the front door with an electronic fob.
"I'm allergic to antiques, actually," deadpans Howard.
My room has charm (rugs, bare floorboards, vintage brass bathroom fittings, homemade biscuits) but also smooth functionality. The Wi-Fi is strong. The shower is so powerful it is almost a deep muscle massager. Being pernickety, I'd say the tiny TV looks a bit naff and the East Asian artwork is incongruous, but, at this price, such gripes are minor compared with the impressive stuff: real wooden hangers, a teapot, duck down pillows. From bath salts to a bottle opener, this is a very well kitted-out room.
Gisburn is tiny, and most visitors head to Skipton or go walking and eating in the Ribble Valley. At night, if you don't want to drive, toddle along to La Locanda, Gisburn's cosy, cottagey Italian, which does joint deals with Park House – notably a dinner-B&B package for £95 a couple.
From the opening breads, super-fresh cakey focaccia and flat Sardinian pane carasau dressed in oil, rosemary and garlic, it is clear that La Locanda (awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2011) is a trattoria of unusual rigour and authenticity. Maurizio Bocchi cooks, while wife Cinzia suggests wines and explains dishes such as brodo di carne, a full-bodied chicken broth mined with tiny meat tortellini. A plate of fractionally undercooked gnocchetti with peppers, wild mushrooms and Calabrian sausage has layers of woody, smoky flavour to it, and a nice chilli heat.
Breakfast at Park House continues this high standard. Mary skilfully deploys A1 ingredients: sausages from Clitheroe butcher Cowmans; bread from Liddell's bakery in Barnoldswick. Like Park House itself, her omelette Arnold Bennett (big, hot nuggets of smoked haddock bound in a luxuriously smooth Lancashire cheese filling) is a cracker.
• Accommodation was provided by Park House. Travel between Manchester and Clitheroe was provided by Northern Rail. For local tourism information, see visitlancashire.com
