B&B has long been a tradition in the UK and we have taken advantage of this way of securing a bed for the night on many occasions since our first visit way back in the 1960s.
In those days a bedroom in a cottage cost 12s 6d and if you wanted a bath (always shared and down a draughty corridor) it added a further 2s to the bill.
Over the decades we've watched the prices rise and now, along with most goods and services in the UK, it has risen to heights that severely stretch the average Kiwi travel budget.
As part of a UK trip this year we spent three weeks driving from Somerset in the southwest up the western side of England and into Scotland as far as Inverness then down the eastern seaboard to Kent in the southeast, bed-and-breakfasting all the way.
It was enriching in so many ways but cost a small fortune.
In general you get what you pay for.
In Clacton - a dismal seaside town in East Anglia - we found the cheapest and for $120 we had an almost bare room with a shared bathroom on the next floor.
It was quite clean but a bit sordid to be honest.
Our most expensive was on the north Norfolk coast, "The Maltings", a very tired but still elegant house that had a faded charm about it and cost $258 for the night.
The average price overall was about $190.
B&Bs vary in standard and style but most follow a similar pattern: dim lighting, knotty-pine furniture, salmon pink nylon carpet, one chair per room and pictures plonked in odd places.
Without exception the beds were hard, the pillows mean and the duvets suffocatingly heavy for summer.
Some offered tissues, fluffy towels and a thoughtful selection of toiletries, others had miserly slivers of cheap soap and nothing else.
Televisions varied from plasma wonders with hundreds of channels down to an ancient box with two channels and a wire loop for an aerial.
Sometimes the shower was luxurious, spacious with soft, very hot water and plenty of it.
Others were upright coffins with a lukewarm dribble.
There was always tea and coffee available but too often the jug had to be filled in the bathroom basin and wouldn't fit under the tap.
Road noise was all too often an issue because B&Bs tend to be on main roads - you learn to live with it.
Breakfast was always the same: cereal or tinned grapefruit followed by bacon and eggs with varying additions such as baked beans, sausage, black pudding, mushrooms, tomatoes or fried bread.
On two occasions there were kippers or haddock, which was such a welcome change.
The quality varied from the excellent "locally sourced organics" to bog-standard greasy with sausages of questionable origins.
Although expensive by New Zealand standards, B&Bs are well priced compared with hotels and the very best thing about them is that there is no need to book ahead.
And we met such interesting people.
The hosts are invariably friendly and courteous and other guests can be a pleasure to share a chat, a drink or a dinner with.
We wouldn't have missed it for anything. - Vera Pedersen
