WINNING TIP: Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel, Caernarfon

This is my all-time favourite place to stay in the UK. Set in a beautiful mountain pass in Snowdonia, this is a walkers' and mountaineers' hotel, with memorabilia from the 1953 Everest team, who trained there. The rooms are clean and traditional. The bathrooms, seemingly from the 1950s, have great soaking showers. They even makes sandwiches for taking on treks.
01286 870211, pyg.co.uk. Doubles from £42 B&B
timoxo

Dartmoor

Bovey Castle, North Bovey
Bovey Castle is definitely the luxury end of the market with comfortable surroundings and good food. It offers guided tours of Dartmoor on foot or by Land Rover as well as mountain bike hire. Children are loaned Lego toys (Lego Room Service) and can egg hunt. There is a hotel and self-catering lodges and after a hard day walking you can get a massage in the spa.
0844 474 0077, boveycastle.com. Doubles from £229
tatt

Prince Hall Country House, Yelverton
Prince Hall, halfway between Two Bridges and Dartmeet on Dartmoor is a luxurious but affordable hotel in a beautifully stark setting. My mum and I spent a week here going on blustery walks, reading Daphne du Maurier novels and drinking gin. It's a very dog-friendly place: they didn't bat an eyelid when we returned from a walk with a considerably browner dog than the one we'd left with. Pre-dinner drinks cosied up in the living room followed by gorging out on produce from local suppliers in the dining room made for an excellent eating experience. There are plenty of walks and whichever you take you'll see beautiful countryside with plenty to explore.
01822 890403, princehall.co.uk. Doubles from £95 B&B
LjHumphrey

Lake District

Skiddaw House hostel, Keswick
Though it's miles from the nearest road or car park, you can arrive here on foot or by bike. It's well worth the effort, via several routes, because of the almost-untouched views around the beautiful Back o' Skiddaw fells, as well as the moors and valleys. A warm welcome from the wardens, simple yet comfortable accommodation, and there's even an upright piano in the social room. Solar panels provide power for hot water and to light this one-time gamekeepers' lodge. A comfortable two-hour walk from Keswick.
07747 174293, skiddawhouse.co.uk. Dorm beds: over 21s £17 a night, 16-21 years £12.50, under 16s £8.50
Ricmovida

Keswick Park House, Keswick
A great B&B. The hotel is comfortable and the breakfast is brilliant. If you're travelling by car there is a small car park. After that you won't need to use the car again, with such a large variety of walks on the doorstep or a short sail away. Keswick has a great choice of shops, pubs, restaurants and entertainment (including theatre and cinema).
017687 74816, keswickparkhotel.co.uk. Doubles from £38 B&B
gdeanouk

Linthwaite House, Windermere
This is an awesome place to stay, especially for a special occasion. It has lovely grounds with amazing views over the length of Lake Windermere. It feels like it is in the middle of nowhere, but it is only a short hike to the lake, although it is a bit of a trek coming back uphill to return to the hotel! A short ferry trip takes you to the other side of the lake where you can walk by the lake or climb the hill with its rocky terrain and small waterfalls. Great walks, great views and not far from the action – something for everyone.
01539 488600, linthwaite.com. Doubles from £90 B&B
emjat1501

North York Moors

Troutsdale Lodge, Hackness
This characterful and unique guesthouse is a former Edwardian hunting lodge near Dalby Forest. It is incredibly peaceful, and the lodge has views across the valleys and forests of this beautiful area. You can sit for hours on the south-facing veranda. There are log fires in the dining room and lounge in the winter, and Clive, the lovely owner, serves tea when you arrive, and a great breakfast made from locally sourced farm produce.
01723 882209, troutsdalelodge.co.uk. Doubles from £60 B&B
troutiemcfish

Yorkshire Dales

Keld Lodge, near Richmond
Keld Lodge is a former shooting lodge and youth hostel. It retains the best features of the hostel – a dining room with a great view, and an efficient drying room for wet waterproofs etc – but now has comfortable, private en suite rooms, excellent local real ale on draught, a delicious menu and wine list and a warm welcome, whether you arrive on foot, by car or bike. Dogs are welcome too. Situated at the head of Swaledale, where the Pennine Way crosses the Coast to Coast path, it's a bit of luxury in a walkers' paradise.
01748 886259, keldlodge.com. Doubles from £90 B&B
Sue Allonby

Cairngorms

Findhorn Foundation, Findhorn
On the north eastern tip of the Cairngorm national park sits the beautiful village of Findhorn with its wide open bay full of birds and sea beasties. As a native of the south-east of England I remain in awe of the Scottish landscape. The park is an awesome place with its mountains, lochs and rolling seas. Nestled beside Findhorn Bay is the Findhorn Foundation, which describes itself as an "international community for holistic education" and boasts an organic cafe and a shop with fantastic food supplies. It also has a wide variety of B&B accommodation in eco-housing. You can stay in a straw bale house, a brandy barrel house or in one of the modern eco-houses. In spring and autumn you can sit on the beach and look across to snow-capped mountains, and sometimes catch a glimpse of a seal, a dolphin or a minke whale.
01309 690311, findhorn.org. Doubles from £40 B&B
JanetThompson

Snowdonia

Campbell's Cottage, Blaenau Ffestiniog
Campbell's Cottage has a private stop for the Ffestiniog railway: just stick out your hand to flag down a steam train at Campbell's Platform. You can even enjoy train spotting while lounging in the bath. The platform is named after Colonel Campbell, an army solicitor with the Black Watch who retired to Snowdonia. The cottage was originally the barn of the next door manor house and built in the 1560s, and it then became the mess for the railway volunteers rebuilding the line. In those days it slept 18 in dormitory style but now you enjoy relative luxury in two en suite bedrooms. Wildlife is all around with nuthatches, woodpeckers and yellowhammers on the bird table plus the occasional bank vole.
01766 590272, campbellscottage.co.uk. From £360 a week, sleeps 4
Lucy Freeman