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 confident style for this mid-19th-century house, with a Mediterranean garden, elegant terrace and pool, a stroll from the historic centre

This is Somerset at its most quintessential: a thatched roofed, honey-coloured Hamstone cottage with a pretty courtyard garden; sleeps four

A grand dining hall and super kitchen, perfect for big gatherings. Spot spoonbills on the salt marsh, sea swim or walk to delis and pubs

A neat, recently restored townhouse inside Panicale's medieval walls with plenty of space and everything within walking distance

Magnificent views unfold over the glittering sea towards the Cap d'Antibes from this elegant 1750 manor filled with much art and history

Leave the car, everything is walkable & buses are practically free. Visit restaurants, vineyards & markets from your lofty village bolthole

A neatly-converted old farmhouse on a quiet country lane with bright living spaces, heated pool, garden and hot tub just minutes from sandy beaches

Swings, a terrace and pool in 2 acres ringed by fields and tranquility, and lakes and vineyards beyond. Family bliss in Quercy

A surprisingly roomy interior for this pretty chocolate-box cottage in the middle of the village, just a ten-minute walk from Lulworth Cove

An 1800s former watermill, now elegantly converted to give B&B rooms plus a self-catering cottage in the Côte d'Opale, superb for walking

Family-friendly hotel on Ullswater with a pool and a variety of bedrooms, some super-cool - swim in the lake, walk in the hills, eat well

With incredible views across to distant hilltop towns, olive groves and buzzing bees, this elegant farmhouse has bags of charm

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

Pippa tells you where to find wild flowers, babbling brooks and butterflies... and hike, bike and swim. Magic for families

Relaxed, bohemian vibe out in the wilds yet close to civilization. An organic garden and woodland yurt add to the convivial, communal idyll

Come for an exceptionally inviting 17th-century inn, a chocolate-box Cotswold village, excellent local food and ales, very comfortable rooms

Picturesque cottage in the grounds of a grand manor, lovingly and creatively restored by its welcoming English owner