A period manor and pretty rooms in old stables: a quiet base for Pas-de-Calais and Picardie. Madame loves the house, animals, story-telling

Coffee served in silver cups & cakes are homemade in this duke’s palace, a throwback to the Moorish kingdom - a Sawday's Community Champion

This stylish little art-filled inn has comfortable rooms, is surrounded by good walking countryside and serves delicious food - rest here

Come for the glorious Northumbrian countryside and a neat-as-a-pin cottage with much comfort and a private garden near to the coast

A cottage in a conservation village with logs in the burner, sloe gin on the table, and a good dining pub you can walk to

Once a shooting lodge, this stand-alone big building was part of a medieval estate and you can still see the grassy mount and dungeon tower

Stylish sustainability in star-hung Alicante with solar power, gorgeous rooms and a pool. Authentic breakfasts and dinners await

Peaceful converted barn on a remote working farm – pet the donkeys, wild swim and row on the lake, warm up around the wood-burner

An exquisite Provençal home for a large party, hidden behind grand gates in a small village surrounded by the pine-scented Alpilles

One of Scotland’s coolest hotels waits at the end of a four-mile track - you find loch, mountain and sky, and Tom’s fabulous food

A deliciously rural stone house with charmingly simple rustic-chic interiors and saline pool - an hour from Perugia

Tucked down a high-hedged lane on a working farm with gorgeous walks from the door and stunning views of the unspoilt Exe valley

Special back-to-nature, stargazing loft for couples and families, on a nature-filled estate in Piedmont

High in Ávila's unspoilt nature is this stylish, eco-brilliant family hotel: mountains, massages, pool, organic dinners... a special escape

A charming renovated stone gîte only 15km from Bergerac with a large outdoor pool, pretty gardens and walks and cycle rides from the door

A rustic gem with a rich history, a domed chapel and a fountain in the courtyard. Dine superbly, choose from an extensive wine list

A cosy bolt hole near medieval Cartmel with woods, meadows and wildlife – great for walkers in this quiet part of the South Lakes

Come for wide open countryside criss-crossed by a myriad of footpaths and this very comfortable, stylish and roomy retreat