A 15th-century courtyard hides a petite contemporary apartment – a fabulous base from which to explore the city and all its treasures

A well-equipped cottage with a big beautiful garden and murmuring brook. Come for peace, wildlife, a welcome cocktail, and grand walking

A niftily restored, open-plan, beamed hayloft, just the ticket for romantics, with gorgeous views of fields and open countryside

There's a pared-back unforced elegance to this stone barn sitting quietly in its own grounds beside a cobbled courtyard awash with roses

An historic, moated manor house dating from the 16th-century, fully restored and with all mod cons, including an indoor heated pool

Cosy apartment for two in a cluster of farm buildings near Hawkshead, surrounded by countryside and with a good pub a stroll away

An 18th-century cottage for four on a working sheep farm: walk the Pentland Hills, get the bus to Edinburgh for culture

Artistic souls will like it here, and those who enjoy shared meals & getting to know other people in dramatic countryside; Arezzo is 40 km

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 warm, inviting boutique hotel in Shrewsbury’s historic centre; potter about the medieval streets, relax in a sun-catching courtyard

Two elegant village houses for big happy gatherings of friends and family with a yoga studio, spacious courtyard and glistening pool

Feel French in this very beautiful 300-year-old house with a large garden and pool in a hilltop medieval village of winding, cobbled streets

A gorgeous wooden-clad off-grid cottage deep in the National Park with far-reaching views, unfussy interiors and spoiling extra treatments

A three storey house and garden with sea glimpses in the 'vieux village' named for the Mimosa trees which flower in profusion in winter

An adorable whitewashed crofter's cottage on the Wern Estate with pretty gardens, a bird-filled woodland and glorious walks from the door

A lovely old stone house with a covered veranda and sparkling pool in a small hilltop hamlet overlooking a lush forested valley

In a mellowstone village with a jolly pub, a super raftered barn with generous touches. Friendly owners next door know the Cotswolds well...

In the Welsh Marches, down winding lanes, a delightful refurbished hop pickers' house - romantic bolthole for 2. Friendly owners, too