THE PIG-on the beach

The mellow yellow house on the cliff above Studland Bay was built in 1825 as a seaside villa and summer escape for the Bankes family, who also held Kingston Lacy and Corfe Castle. The estate later passed to the National Trust, which still owns the house, and for years it traded as the Manor House Hotel. Robin Hutson's group took the lease and opened it as the fourth PIG in June 2014, keeping the Gothic Revival turrets, pointed windows and gargoyles. There are 23 bedrooms between the main house and huts in the grounds.

The restaurant is a conservatory with clear views across the bay to Old Harry Rocks. Its menu changes daily and draws on the walled Kitchen Garden, the only one in the group within sight of the sea, and on producers within 25 miles, with Dorset fish often delivered within an hour of landing. The bar and lounges sit around open log fires, and paths run from the garden down to the beach.

For private gatherings the house sells The Roundhouse, a small thatched building in the garden facing Old Harry Rocks. It seats up to 12 at one round table made from the end of a wine barrel from a French vineyard, and the Summer House opposite takes drinks before or after. Larger parties book tables in the restaurant, and guests can stay the night.