Special Places to Stay - More than a bed for the night

The bucolic valley is edged with woods – so peaceful you could hear a pin drop. Such ithes setting for this ancient water mill. Owner Lulu lives in part of the house, is kind and charming and has done a terrific job of restoring, carefully preserving the mill's inner workings through the creative use of thick glass and clever lighting. Much of the furniture has been brought from England and the slight English country-house feel is enhanced by some horsey paintings (a reminder of Lulu's past as a point-to-pointer) alongside the traditional arches, beams and cotto floors so typical of rural Italy. The treehouse in the lawned garden is heaven for children and not bad for adults either, as you watch your energetic little ones clambering about and enjoy an apertitivo on the terrace. Dine out here, too; as night falls and the stream is lit up, you'll be hard pressed to think of anywhere you'd rather be. But go out you must, particularly as Sansepolcro, birthplace of Renaissance genius Piero della Francesco, is a ten-minute drive. Arrezo with its lively, monthly antiques market is not much further.