A private house set in Cornwall's largest rewilding estate, ancient and quiet, made for slow family gatherings and long, easy days

A smartly refurbished village pub with its own micro-brewery and a huge emphasis on cooking great food from a network of local suppliers

Come for much grace, space and inspiration in this huge-windowed, view-filled spot surrounded by gloriously untrammelled countryside

The views are sensational, the bedrooms full of charm and higgledy-piggledy beams. Sip Perigord Noir on the terrace and amble to the market

Glass-and-timber doors bathe you with light, gaze at big skies and the river Dart lapping. Sublime year round, it's one of our favourites

Wooded, lakeside retreat for 1 or 2 – big windows, huge terrace, wood-burner, wide screen. The Jurassic coast a cross-country walk away

A superb palazzo in beautiful old Florence with 13 design rooms, a cocktail menu and breakfast in your room. Arty, stylish and near the Duomo

Rural peace just an hour from London in your own gorgeous converted hay barn, ten minutes from Alton

A magical medieval castello, gloriously gothic with tower, moat and ghost, fit for a Shakespearian play.

Gaze over sublime vistas, refresh in the plunge pool, cook up a barbecue treat. A Provençal studio, simply furnished and deeply relaxing

A beautiful little house in a corner of the garden: walk for miles or just to the local pub, barbecue on the deck with its rural views

A sustainably run 1902 farmhouse and a cottage in countryside close to a wonderfully wild stretch of the North Devon coast

Refurbished police HQ in the centre of Bristol, minutes from the bus station, shops and pretty harbourside - a Sawday’s Community Champion

An elegant, super central bolthole for two (or three): stroll everywhere, hop on a vaporetto, sit in piazzas drinking cappuccino, live like a local

Bring the family for a traditional Tuscan apartment holiday with a restaurant and pool on site, all surrounded by rippling green countryside

Spacious rooms with lovely linen, plus top-notch food in a wonderful setting, this is the best A303 stopover for miles

An 1820s beach house just 50 metres from the pretty sands and a first-floor deck for al fresco meals with stunning views over the water