Generous simplicity and organic farm cooking in this rustic Tuscan farm with library, yoga, family apartments and natural lily-dotted pond

A lovingly restored 19th-century farmhouse sitting between the Galtees and Ballyhouras, with a hot tub waiting at day's end

Come for super ridgeway walks and explore charming towns and villages from this pretty 18th-century cottage in the Chalke Valley

Come for a spot of indulgence, with seriously good food and wine, oodles to do in the courtyard, great bedrooms and a cool spa for a splurge

Peaceful escape for couples in the grounds of a stately Tudor manor house; watch the wildlife from your garden, explore the nearby coast

You have the whole North Wing of this beautiful old farmhouse with a private east-facing courtyard for early morning tea as the sun rises

Beautiful Noto is 4 miles from the Ionian Sea, and this creative renovation, with lush garden, stands above the throng. Heaven in Sicily

Stay a while... lulled by lapping sea and fragrant hanging gardens - cool, light, balconied, classic, intimate, unpretentious

Elegant, calm, charming B&B in a 12th-century house surrounded by fields, quiet country roads and vibrant little villages

Heart-soaring Pyrenean views, animals roaming, natural materials in simple rural rooms, organic food: it’s a superbly welcoming eco-lodge

A lovely modern Provençal house, light and welcoming, in a valley of vineyards and forest, tucked peacefully away from the coast

Hike the Wild Boar Fells, get cosy at home with books, games and DVDs, and meet the farm’s hens, cows and sheep

Moments from Chamonix, a sweet chalet with pretty gardens in sun or snow under a backdrop of Mont Blanc – perfect for the adventurous

A gorgeous big old house on a farm in a very quiet part of Wiltshire - the undiscovered North Wessex Downs, filled with wildlife and an AONB

Pluck grapes, splash in the child-shallow pool and explore the ‘Yorkshire of Italy’ with rolling green hills and conical trulli

Countryside and seaside all in one go – what could be more inspiring? Lovely Louisa lives down the road, on hand if you need her

Kids range free, adults recharge in these two gites on a 17th-century estate with sunny gardens and a pool. Hike, bike, swim, relax...

A cottage in a conservation village with logs in the burner, sloe gin on the table, and a good dining pub you can walk to