We began on a whim  - and a prayer. I had spent many happy nights in farmhouse B&Bs in France, the children looked after by kindly farmers’ wives - and by their animals too - and the idea of encouraging more of this had taken root. I had even appreciated the way my errant younger son had been controlled by gentle electric shocks from the farmyard fence. And then, after running walking and cycling tours throughout France and building up a network of friends and fascinating places, I resolved in 1994 to publish a book about Special Places.

I've always known that a guidebook is a poor substitute for tips dished out by a local. So, to test my theory, I've arrived in Puglia without one, but with a list of Sawday's Special Places to Stay and a hope that the people who run them would point me in the right direction. And how right I was.

Sheffield, sadly, has no Sawday places in its city centre so, bereft of all the usual input he gets from our owners when in a place he doesn't know, he sends this missive...

I’m a man who can’t touch his knees, let alone his toes, without the audible twang of largely ignored hamstrings. I’m active, and fairly fit, but I’ve taken a distinctly male approach to my body: one that swings somewhere between pitched battle and willful disregard. So, what the hell was I doing heading up the M5 to a weekend yoga retreat? This sort of thing’s for the graceful (moi?), bendy (not for a while, if ever), quiet (rarely) devotee of well being, surely?

We've had some LOVEly features in the press... In the Financial Times 'Expert Selection' section you'll find Alastair's recommendations for boltholes for two, and in Venue magazine, Toby Sawday's top ten romantic retreats for the love-struck. If you want to spring a surprise for your loved one in February, take a look... Or tell us if you've had a memorably romantic Sawday's stay...