Plas Tan-yr-allt

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An elegant country house on the doorstep of Snowdonia, with glorious views of the Glaslyn Estuary, and some rather well known former residents

If you're struggling with the pronunciation, follow the lead from the owners, who affectionately call the place 'Tanny'. The full name means "the house under the wooded cliff", which undersells its stunning position among 47 acres of woodland facing out over the Porthmadog estuary. Built in 1800 by the slate industrialist William Maddocks and later home to the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, this grand pile was lovingly renovated in 2005 by Nick Golding and Michael Bewick, who now live here with up to 12 lucky guests.

In the deep rose hallway we were greeted by chatty Percival (a green and yellow crested parrot) and the usual country kit (hunter wellies, sporting memora-bilia) with a dash of modern in the guise of a stylish Philippe Starck Ghost chair. This sets the tone for the rest of the house: a sociable dining room and 6 cosy-chic bedrooms with just the right mixture of old and new. It's the perfect country hideaway for those wanting to escape city life to be well fed, well watered and utterly spoilt by peace and quiet.