Chippenham

Staying at Lucknam Park is a lot like staying at Downton Abbey. The forty-two guest rooms are Georgian marvels, some with frilly canopy beds, all with chintzy wallpaper, silk lampshades, and antique mahogany writing desks—for all the letters you might actually write in a place like this. Evenings kick off with dressy drinks in the library. That’s followed by a formal feast—Scotch salmon bathed in butter, Wiltshire beef, that sort of thing—at Michelin-starred restaurant Hywel Jones. Lucknam Park’s inviting, relaxed atmosphere is luxurious but never stuffy. Between afternoon canters around the estate on one of Lucknam’s horses (there are also well-trained ponies for smaller riders), outdoor soaks in the saltwater pool, and patisserie classes at the superb cooking school, there’s little incentive to leave the estate. And it’s 500 acres, so why would you? But if you do, head to Castle Combe. The village has barely changed since the 1600s.