Garden lovers

Two family-friendly gites (big groups can take both) with beautiful gardens, sparkling pool, activities for children and peace for parents

Converted stables on a fruitful and beautiful estate with gardens, sculpture walks, wildflower meadows and a farm-to-fork restaurant

A lovely gîte, once a hunting lodge, with two private terraces overlooking the manicured gardens of an 1830s manor house

Views stretch to the Brecon Beacons from this home on a green and sustainable estate. Once home to King Charles, now it's yours to savour

In pretty Vernon, a peaceful and comfortably large townhouse with roses rambling around the door

A rural idyll with a hot tub under starlit skies and surrounded by gorgeous countryside in the South Lakes within a hop of vibrant Cartmel

An exquisite, serene B&B with sweeping views, tucked between hills, vineyards and meadows and the ancient remains of a Benedictine abbey

A bit like staying with friends in a smart country house, but not having to help - an elegant refuge near Bradford-on-Avon

A very attractive stone building on a smallholding with all mod cons, a bedroom for stargazing, Guest Farm Shop and pretty communal gardens

Dreamy, divine and close to Borghetto, a romantic escape for nature lovers, city folk... with swans, geese, herons and frog chorus

A sweet bolthole for two and a babe-in-arms or pooch in friendly, foodie Ramsbottom with walks straight into woods and moors

High ceilings and exposed stone walls give a light, bright and rustic feel to this restored barn with fabulous views over a lush valley

A beautiful villa with a medieval tower surrounded by formal gardens, gentle slopes of perfectly maintained vineyards and wooded hilltops

Chocolate-box cottages in deepest Normandy, owned by bright young things with a passion for organic cuisine and the good life

An enchanting hideaway with sensational views in a flowery English semi-wild country garden, near Sissinghurst and Great Dixter

A romantic little bolthole with a hot tub on the Penicuik Estate with well-thought-out interiors and dreamy views over pastures and woodland

A village setting for this family-friendly cottage-in-a-row with private garden next to the owners' pretty 17th-century thatched house

Charming farm cottage in a meadow next to ancient woodland and with breathtaking views. A haven for bird-watchers and walkers