Whether exploring the Penwith Peninsula’s miles of wind-battered sea cliffs, the untamed moorlands of Dartmoor National Park or Cornwall’s flower gardens, ablaze with an astonishing array of colors in March and April, England’s West Country is an enticing destination year-round. This is land immortalized by Thomas Hardy and Jane Austen, where the scenery itself tells a story. The opening of two distinguished retreats in the West Country and another just south of London gave us the perfect excuse to return to review formerly aristocratic estates and savor leisurely walks along country lanes.

Beaverbrook

Nestled on a woodland estate in Surrey Hills, the 56-room Beaverbrook is a popular weekend getaway located about 90 minutes from downtown London. The 19th-century mansion was formerly the home of Lord Beaverbrook, a Canadian-British press baron who achieved fame during World War II acting, for a year, as the minister of aircraft production for Winston Churchill, who visited for cabinet meetings.

The décor of the grand manor nods to this era. A large-scale model of a fighter plane highlights the entryway, historic photographs and paintings of Spitfire planes adorn the walls, and the 18 individually decorated lodgings in the House bear the names of luminaries who frequented Beaverbrook’s home (the remainder of the rooms occupy other buildings).