A pretty retreat in the grounds of a romantic château – you have your own walled garden, with terrace, pool and sunbathing area

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

Live like a local at these rustic apartments with a shared courtyard; walk to restaurants and shops, take the ferry to the beach

Near Southwold - rich colours, fresh flowers and exotica! Fields for the dogs, walled gardens for you, logs, umbrellas, digital showers...

Beautifully restored house with a literary history, no neighbours and private access to a sandy bay beyond the pines

A fabulous country boozer, revamped in style with a buzzy atmosphere, great food and welcoming bedrooms - good walking countryside too

A spacious, luxurious family retreat, remote but close to Audierne. Watch surfers shoot the waves as seagulls wheel above

A 17th-Century Irish castle on the water’s edge. Watch the yachts from your bedroom, join local wine nights, discover the rich history

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

Four gîtes in the château’s vast barn, one in the tower. Magnificent mountain and valley views, and Sandrine’s regionally inspired meals

An ideal stopover at a handsome 1790 house on the edge of a small village surrounded by beautiful countryside and with friendly young owners

Hilltop château on the edge of a small village half an hour from Saint-Émilion, with a lovely garden, a swimming pool and two lakes

On a farmstead near Ronda where views stretch for miles are 2 houses, one old, one new, brilliant for families, sharing a fabulous pool

A large, light-filled house sitting very much on its own in the middle of the peaceful Eden Valley with masses of space inside and out

A sophisticated and friendly Basque beauty overlooking the Bay of Biscay, in Txakoli vineyard country – prepare to be thoroughly spoilt

Come down to the Meon Valley and be (very gently) nudged towards a better way of living - a Sawday's Community Champion

A cosy, courteous, family-run hotel with ‘chocolatines’ and cherry jams at breakfast, Basque dishes at dinner, and gorgeous rolling views

Come for a village feel, rural peace and boundless Portuguese countryside at this charming whitewashed home with a super terrace with views