Château apartments with a heated pool, parkland and a menagerie - Gold Beach and the British Normandy Memorial are on the doorstep

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

Surrounded by wildlife and water, this ultra-modern house has huge windows, white walls and designer furnishings. Blissfully remote

A converted farmhouse set in a large mature garden, well located for exploring the delights of the Lot et Garonne south of the Dordogne

Birders will love escaping up here, golfers too - visit Hatfield House, Knebworth, Cambridge - come back to a good local pub and a comfy bed

A hop to Montpellier, but deep in the countryside: a romantic pad, with Moroccan rugs, ochre-limed walls and bikes to ride into the country

Weaving medieval magic, this dreamy hideaway is an ideal base for nature-loving gourmands to explore the region

Green and serene, a striking array of eco cottages on a family farm where style and comfort reign, close to the coast but far from the crowd

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

Families can unwind at this lovely old higgledy-piggledy farmhouse in typical southern Algarve style, with a big pool and lush greenery

A fortified castle in parkland, built mostly in the 1300s on the Montbazens plateau, near to the stunning Averyon gorges

Two lovely cottages sleeping eight for very special holidays with a private beach, acres of land to explore and a welcome hamper of dreams

Superbly comfortable house with beamed rooms, lovely views, club-like morning room, antiques, terrace, pool, fitness centre and lily pond

This is Somerset at its most quintessential: a thatched roofed, honey-coloured Hamstone cottage with a pretty courtyard garden; sleeps four

Come for a bright, roomy, uber-green and accessible larch-clad space with garden and pond in pretty countryside

Float in the infinity pool above the canyon, dine under the stars, revel in the silence, head to the Cavagrande di Cassibile Nature Reserve

Sustainably built Suffolk retreat with plenty of space for friends and family to properly unwind - a steam room seals the deal