A beautiful cream stone building in the grounds of a grand château, with a large and view-filled outdoor terrace for peaceful dawdling

An enormous picture window gives you views over fields of sheep and the Cheviots, beaches are nearby. Return to huge comfort and warmth

A stylish, canal-side inn – you get Sunday lunch, tow paths that lead into Edinburgh, then a pretty garden and cute rooms

5 minutes from the Vatican in a tall palazzo above the British school. Owners share local tips, serve bakery-fresh breakfasts on the terrace

A seaside inn on Babbacombe Bay with views of sea and sky, rooms to feel happy in, a spa and homely, hearty dining

Magnificent fully-catered villa with pools on an ancient wine estate, high up in a valley surrounded by hills in the very centre of Provence

A hilltop setting for this ancient fortress with an illustrious past. You stay in apartments or farmhouses inside or outside the walls

Come for a bright, roomy, uber-green and accessible larch-clad space with garden and pond in pretty countryside

A delightful hostess and gem of a village home, from grand piano to organic potager and pool. Market-fresh meals pair with Beaujolais wines

An elegant townhouse, built in 1830 and once the sous-préfecture for Rochefort, with spacious, light-filled rooms and a garden with pool

Birders will love escaping up here, golfers too - visit Hatfield House, Knebworth, Cambridge - come back to a good local pub and a comfy bed

Foodies and sociable souls will enjoy this lively B&B in a pretty honey-coloured stone cottage with a garden and a very friendly owner

Welcoming, dog-friendly pub with food to rave about, cracking countryside views and very comfortable bedrooms

Surrounded by delightful gardens, these gîtes are serene retreats from which you can discover the Dordogne, or gently unwind

Just below the Tuscan town of Massa Marittima, an agriturismo loved by sporty types and families, with wonderful food on site

Rest, restore, and explore... from this smart, successful Cotswolds’ gastropub with ancient beams, roaring fires and truly pretty bedrooms

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

Come to be thoroughly cosseted and nurtured in this ancient Presbytery surrounded by rolling countryside with views of the Dordogne river