Enjoy views of the South Downs from this converted milking parlour for 2 or 4 - fill up on the breakfast hamper and head out on long walks

Dinner fresh from the garden with your creative hosts is an absolute delight. Roam unspoilt countryside, visit châteaux and vineyards galore

A stately retreat, an oasis of calm and beauty. Picnic on the lawns, enjoy a glass of home-produced prosecco beneath a centuries-old tree

Crackling fires in winter, croquet in the summer. Life ticks by peacefully - rooms are engagingly old-fashioned, the garden is much-loved

B&B rooms, some with kitchenettes, in a lush garden setting with a river running behind. The pretty village is on your doorstep

A 200-year old townhouse on a charming cobbled street with stunning views from the terraces over rooftop Olhão and down to the sea

A smartly renovated 250-year-old brick and flint built inn, tucked away in a sleepy village beneath the glorious South Downs

Elegant farmhouse B&B. Drawing room with a log fire, generous breakfasts with home produce, cookery courses and friendly welcoming hosts

Cosy 17th-century cottage in a village inland from Wells-next-the-Sea and with easy access to north Norfolk's main attractions

If houses could smile, this 1850 townhouse would be beaming - grand for groups, with four terraces, two living rooms and a plunge pool

High in the heavenly hills is this very smartly converted farm building, with underfloor heating, much glass, wood and exposed brickwork

An island of oyster farms, salt pans and white beaches, woolly donkeys, countless push-bikes and the odd celeb – we love the Ile de Ré!

An 18th-century townhouse restored with flair by former restauranteurs: come for colour, comfort and sublime dining

A comfortable and light-filled converted stone barn in the pretty Vendée, a quiet and rural spot but just half a mile from town

A beautifully designed B&B for foodies, cyclists and walkers in a village surrounded by trees just 15 minutes from the coast

Come for deep beds, real fires, Scottish breakfasts, a generous welcome, great walking, cycle tracks and grand lochside views

Fabulous bakes and hot waffles at breakfast, green fields all around and Normandy steeped in history. Great for foodies and historians

Come to be inspired - by the buildings, the art, the concept and the rich history. You should be very comfortable too, and well fed