Well Cottage Bed & Breakfast and The Wild Duck Inn in Great Britain

My friend, Virginia, and I spent five days at Well Cottage Bed & Breakfast (Ewen, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 6BU, UNITED KINGDOM; phone 01 285 770212, mobile 0 7850 328447, www.well cottagebandb.co.uk) in October ’08, and we must have picked the gold-medal winner of English B&Bs!

Well Cottage is a beautiful, old stone farmhouse in the pretty little community of Ewen. The interior has been extensively remodeled.

Our twin-bedded room (£60 [$86] per night for a double or £50, single) was spacious and handsomely furnished with a fabulous bathroom, white and sparkling clean, with ultracontemporary facilities. With French doors opening into the garden, the room was well lit.

Our hosts, Neil and Bridget, were a warm and lively couple only too happy to please and offer extra kindnesses. The breakfast menu offered lighter choices in addition to the full English breakfast.

We took most of our dinners at The Wild Duck Inn, just up the road from Well Cottage, which was usually filled with local residents enjoying the pleasures of the cheerful bar and fine cuisine. (Main dishes cost £12-£20 [$17-$28].) Take a good flashlight for the walk back to the B&B at night.

We got around on foot, by taxis to nearby towns and also by taking the train from Kemble station, a 1½-mile walk away. One day we hired taxis to visit the nearby towns. This is a place where a car or bike would be ideal, and Well Cottage is a lovely place to stay.

— JEANIE SHERWOOD, Davis, CA