A Regency villa in North Wales which was once home to the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley has been transformed into a small country house hotel, opening on March 21. As well as Shelley, who lived at Plas Tan-yr-Allt from 1812-13 but fled after being shot at – the episode is an intriguing mystery to this day – the house’s hospitality attracted other literary visitors.

Among them were novelists Thomas Love Peacock and E.F. Benson. It is also of interest to architectural historians as the house was built in 1800 by Williams Madocks who created an early example of town planning at nearby Tremadog.

The house, its walled garden and grounds overlook the Glaslyn Estuary in the foothills of Snowdonia National Park. Restored over the last two years, there are six en-suite bedrooms and meals are taken en-famille in the dining room with its south-facing French windows. The emphasis is on local food such as award-winning sausages from Penrhyndeudraeth for breakfast and Saltings lamb or local game at dinner.

Prices range from £75 - £95 per room for two people, including breakfast: for reservations, tel. 01766 514545. Plas Tan-yr-Allt, Tremadog, Gwynedd LL49 9RG. Website: www.tanyrallt.co.uk