Mr & Mrs Smith

Head to the 14th-century Old Wardour Castle in the valley, a 10-minute drive or 35-minute walk from the hotel (www.english-heritage.org.uk). The castle has graced many a movie and is the perfect spot for a picnic – ask the hotel to make you one before you set off. Another great spot to hunker down with a hamper is the Fonthill Estate, a five-minute walk away (+44 (0)1747 820 246; www.fonthill.co.uk). If you have a car, Stonehenge is a 20-minute drive away, Bath is a 30-minute drive, and (for the little uns) Longleat’s Safari Park is just 20 minutes away (www.longleat.co.uk). The hotel has a list of all the best walks nearby, and will lend intrepid guests an ordnance survey map. They can also recommend where to go for deer stalking and shooting (whether simulated or real), fly fishing, horse racing or golf. Remember to nab a copy of the Blackmore Vale magazine as soon as you arrive at the Beckford Arms – published on a Friday, it lists all the local hotspots and events (www.thisisdorset.co.uk).

Dine at The Bath Arms, a boutique hotel with the Mr & Mrs Smith stamp of approval and a popular restaurant, tricked out with scarlet drapes and chandeliers (+44 (0)1985 844 308). The Compasses Inn is a 14th-century freehouse just a 10-minute drive from the hotel, in Lower Chicksgrove (+44 (0)1722 714 318; www.thecompassesinn.com). The main bar has 11 tables, and there is a small dining room used for private parties. Expect plenty of sturdy beams, wood galore and fresh, seasonal dishes, such as pigeon and puy lentil salad with quail eggs, and wild mushroom, chestnut, butter bean and fennel casserole. At the King John Inn (+44 (0)1725 516207; www.kingjohninn.co.uk) in nearby Tollard Royal, local produce is brought to the fore in dishes such as Pythouse lamb breast and Portland crab on toast. Near Shaftesbury, the Fontmell (+44 (0)1747 811441; www.thefontmell.com) serves traditional fare such as steak and claret pudding and roasted saddle of venison.

Wander around the walled Victorian Pythouse Kitchen Garden (+44 (0)1747 870 444; www.pythouse-farm.co.uk) and stop for lunch at the wonderful café on the verandah. The cream teas are worth piling on the pounds for, but if you’re feeling guilty, forego the five-minute drive for a half-hour walk back to the hotel. Turnbulls café and deli is in the centre of Shaftesbury, at 9 High Street (+44 (0)1747 858 575; www.turnbulls-deli.co.uk). Try their take on tapas – River Exe mussels in local cream and local cider sauce, mini Westcombe cheddar rarebit toasties, Mere trout bruschettas, paté and terrines, and local hams and pies. De-liz café and delicatessen in Tisbury is crammed with enough cakes, chutneys, cheeses and charcuterie to feed an army, and is just a 10-minute walk, or three-minute drive, from the hotel (+44 (0)1747 871 771; www.deliz.co.uk).