Top 5 best value accommodation on my trip around the coast of Britain

"Value" is a relative term. You can have the best view from your room, but if the service ain't good...well, it just doesn't work as a package. And because travellers value different things at different values (if you follow me!), it's awful difficult to provide a bullet-proof list...So the following places were great value to me...

Factors I considered were price (obviously), scenery, service, cleanliness, decor, food, friendliness...and the undefinable X-factor, which can be little things like a manager's hearty laugh, or a glass of sherry next to your bed, or home made jams at breakfast, or a phone call after you've left, saying "thanks for coming, it was great to have you to stay"...

1. Eddrachilles Hotel, in Scourie, northwest Scotland. Beautiful location in the lochs and mountains, spick-and-span rooms, and excellent food. All for £60 a person a night (high-season), including room, breakfast and a fine three course dinner.

2. Cottage Hotel, Hope Cove, England. The hotel sits on the hill that overlooks the harbour and bay, and okay, the simple hotel food ain't gourmet, but it suits the setting...somehow it would seem wrong to eat haute cuisine in a village that survives on a daily catch. £60 a person a night (high-season), including room, breakfast and three-course dinner.

3. Lowther House, Whitehaven, England. For £40 a night, you'll get the smartest accommodation on the coast of Britain and the best breakfast (seriously). I can imagine heads of state staying here, and being quite comfortable...the rooms are huge, and the bathrooms are too. And it was the cleanest I experienced.

4. Cornerways, St Ives, England. For between £25 and £40 a person a night, you get slick accommodation in the middle of the labyrinthe of St Ive's cobbled streets and a very good breakfast. Trust me, this is cheap for St Ives...

5. Varne Ridge Holiday Park, Dover, England. This isn't a hotel, nor a guest house...it's got a couple of mobile homes which are very comfortable, and kitted out with everything you need for a self-catering holiday. Including flatscreen TV with all the channels - not that you'll watch them, because you'll probably be staring out across the English Channel. On average, you'll pay about £15 a person a night for a family of four...and these rates come down the longer you stay.