Friendly Maki and Clive's higgledy-piggledy home is a charming, special place. Rooms are cosy, Clive's cookery courses are fun and delicious

Glorious views of Derwentwater and Skiddaw from this comfortable house. Art dotted about, a big table for chatty meals and a pretty garden

An idyllic hotel-restaurant in a postcard-pretty medieval village. Warm interiors, a varied menu of local produce, masses to see and do...

A harmonious B&B in Chinon wine country. Home-cooked food, comfortable beds, easy conservations with your host and starry skies at night

With a sauna in the woods and a Nordic bath by the lake, these carefully renovated farm buildings are a lovely slow-living retreat

A privilege to be able to stay within the famous gardens of magnificent Château de Courances. The painter's village of Barbizon is nearby

A lovely big house with huge riverside gardens and an easy-going charm – a 15-minute walk from bookish Hay-on-Wye

Two homely gîtes sleeping 4 and 2 in rural farm country. Walk to the bakery; drive 15 minutes to Saint-Malo and riverside restaurants

Year-round Alpine fun at this peaceful home a short hop from the peaks with calm bedrooms, delicious breakfasts and mountain views

A grand, 16th-century Breton château complete with dovecote, turret and chapel surrounded by 50 acres of parkland, woods and small lake

An ancient thatched cottage near Dartmoor with a warming log fire in winter and flowers inside and out in the summer

Friendly pub in rural village near Cambridge with strong community feel, great local food, garden, snug room and fresh, pretty bedrooms

You will fall in love with this very special Tuscan agriturismo between the mountains and sea: peace and simplicity prevail

In the middle of the National Park and surrounded by the Coquet Hills, come for dark skies, fabulous walking and a very comfortable cottage

The oldest of three secluded cottages that share a gravel courtyard and a beautiful garden with cathedral views

Immerse yourself in sentiment and romance at Valeria’s charming Veronese villa. The walls sing with framed opera programmes and music scores

A 18th-century house with pool in a small town with friendly owners and a tropical garden of banana, fig and, of course, frangipani

Explore ‘Green Provence’ on e-bikes, enjoy the pool and calm of a Mediterranean garden surrounded by vineyards. Return to a delicious dinner