Beautifully designed timber cabins in the Black Mountains, right next to a lovely old inn serving good, honest food from their own farm

Come here in the summer (it’s closed Nov-April except by arrangement) for candlelit dining, chintzy bedrooms, long views over the park...

Come for the utter silence and the rare beauty of this far north-westerly landscape, teeming with wildlife. An antidote to city life

A mid 1800s converted farmhouse and a cottage in a quiet hamlet with private gardens and lovely grounds, just 15 minutes from the coast

Great taste – in decor and food – and a delicious heated pool. Views swoop over field and valley; trails, villages, wineries tempt

A very attractive stone building on a smallholding with all mod cons, a bedroom for stargazing, Guest Farm Shop and pretty communal gardens

A small, trendy hotel, very much of its time, with oodles of style, stunning bedrooms and fantastic staff

Deep in undulating countryside, three pretty stone cottages with a shared, family-friendly saltwater pool and charming, generous owners

An expansive and generous 13th-century Catalan farmhouse, restored with verve and colour in the Pyrenees - a wonderful spot for groups

Three gîtes in the Dordogne with panoramic countryside views and a swimming pool – book individually or together for a group holiday

Laze in the pool, nibble olives from the market, gaze over Provence. Inside, English meets classic French. Fabulous for families

Rural French heaven at this lovely farm within four hectares. Natural materials, neutral colours and a lavender-lined pool all to yourselves

A marvellous spot overlooking Rutland Water for this 1760 former hunting lodge with good seasonal British food and very comfortable bedrooms

Come to stay in a fine old townhouse with elegant proportions, high ceilings and a rambling, English-style garden close to Mont Saint-Michel

In the glorious Howardian Hills, a homely cottage with an open fire for chilly nights and a lovely, country-style kitchen filled with light

Bustling Fowey harbour sweeps out below this Victorian townhouse. Walk to shops and restaurants, hike the coastal path, return to comfort

An artist's house imbued with an understated elegance. Stay for dinner; be charmed by the garden where fruit trees throng, hens loiter

Serious art, lovely lighting, great sound system and a fat wood-burner belting out the heat at this super place for families or friends