Great for comfort, beauty, character and home baking. Borrow vintage bikes to explore Cambridge: Christine knows it inside out

A cosy bolthole near Paris's best museums, monuments and churches. A peaceful sleep and simple buffet breakfast set you up for sightseeing

Anouk & Gilles have fine-tuned their welcome. Lounge by the pool and dine exquisitely within their landscaped park

A traditional country house experience with plenty of space for big family get-togethers, on a very old estate with fascinating gardens

Style, comfort and tranquillity combine in a lovely B&B near Bergerac. Sleep in elegant four-poster beds, breakfast on the sunny terrace…

Come to stay in a lovely old house surrounded by an important garden created by three generations of brilliant women gardeners

A trulli hamlet immersed in nature, on the wilder side of Puglia with visits to white-washed hilltop towns and cooking with Nonna Maria

Five tranquil apartments surrounded by Tuscan countryside just over half an hour's drive from Siena - hire them all for a group holiday

Glass-and-timber doors bathe you with light, gaze at big skies and the river Dart lapping. Sublime year round, it's one of our favourites

A cleverly planned 2020 large family home with all the bells and whistles for superb holidays – swimming pool, gym, barbecue and garden

A lovely honey-coloured stone cottage with private walled garden, large terrace and pool, outdoor bath and pergola-covered terrace

Old wooden sleigh beds, check-clothed tables, log fires, a courtyard of centuries-old trees, a claw foot bath. Stacks of character

A period manor and pretty rooms in old stables: a quiet base for Pas-de-Calais and Picardie. Madame loves the house, animals, story-telling

An airy Estate Manager's House set in pretty grounds with a pool, orchard, barbecue and private terrace for long lazy days in the sun

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

Encircled by wild dales and rugged fells, this spoiling cottage cocoons you in countryside peace with the added fun of a sauna in the garden

Deep French countryside, fine hospitality from true nature lovers, fantastic bedrooms and delicious dinners in an outbuilding

An attractive, sympathetic barn conversion, full of light, pleasingly uncluttered and hidden down a lane in stunningly beautiful countryside