Find history and splendour in bucketfuls on this huge, friendly, wooded domaine. A winning combination of modern luxury and ancient peace

Rooms are good value, breakfast is taken overlooking the garden and there's superb veggie food next door - a Sawday's Community Champion

Come for glorious walking countryside and warm fuss-free Sally, who gives you freshly baked scones when you arrive and beautiful bedrooms

Hideaway in the hills complete with private pool and outdoor kitchen. Spend days hiking or on a sun lounger - perfect for families

The central part of a much larger building in a 17th-century hamlet with bright, spacious rooms, shared pool and glorious private gardens

Once a coach house, now a split-level place to stay – you can walk to the river and it's just a short hop to central London

A beautiful little collection of trulli near the Valle d’Itria – restored with flair and with gardens, woods and pool

Filled with interesting finds, antiques and artefacts, this is a charming cabin hideaway for couples on the banks of the Kingsbridge Ria

A really friendly French family home, steeped in history and tradition with delicious home-grown food, a lovely garden and peaceful pool

Flop in a hammock and be lulled by Mediterranean scents and breezes, relax in an ancient Trullo – come here for raw beauty not for frills

Elegant country château with a family feel, for big groups with or without children, and those who seek inspiration

Orchards and ducks, open fires, deep comfort in glorious Wiltshire countryside. Courtyard bedrooms and lovely big kitchen too

A very romantic and peaceful Umbrian hideaway just for two with delicious breakfasts and wonderful views from house and pool

An old stone farmhouse with plenty of room for a large group, a terrace with hot tub and lawns and access to a shared pool and tennis court

A 17th-century traditional Welsh longhouse in a very sheltered spot facing south and with a pretty garden surrounded by fields and meadows

Canoeing on the Tamar, valley walks galore, with the woodland garden a sea of daffodils in the spring. A magical self-catering hideaway