Swim with frogs in the freshwater pool, breakfast in the sunshine, play boules by moonlight. Châteaux don't get much more rural

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

Superb rural views, excellent hiking and generous bedrooms. Cristina and Alec take good care of guests - the food is delicious

Families will adore coming here, to reconnect through wonderful outdoor activities in glorious countryside and to feel cossetted indoors

Provençal charm floats through the ground floor of this 18th-century home in a vineyard near Lorgues. Walk, cycle, swim, enjoy the peace

Airy interiors, good local food and a blissful rural setting for this refurbished inn, popular with locals and with a happy, bustling vibe

A beautifully renovated apartment in a quiet street in central Bordeaux, with fine old features and all modernities. Ideal for couples

Friendly Maki and Clive's higgledy-piggledy home is a charming, special place. Rooms are cosy, Clive's cookery courses are fun and delicious

Light-filled gites share a lovely pool, with pétanque, ping-pong and bikes to borrow – bring friends and take all three

Welcome to a cosy, country-rustic bolthole for four, in a friendly, community village inn, with some of the best food in Shropshire

A fine old house packed with grand old things above Portree Bay in the middle of Skye - homely bedrooms, some huge, are a treat

A stylish, thoughtful and impressive place for a family holiday, in a dreamy Charentais landscape with the odd sheep to keep you company

In a small town in Salento is a cool southern house of elegant simplicity, ideal for a large family, near to beaches & 45 minutes from Lecce

An old sporting lodge in Argyll renovated with sensitivity – fish in the river, gaze at the night skies, climb Ben Udlaidh

A light, spacious villa in the colonial style designed for easy indoor/outdoor living, with garden, pool and the beach just a short stroll

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

Wooded, lakeside retreat for 1 or 2 – big windows, huge terrace, wood-burner, wide screen. The Jurassic coast a cross-country walk away

Old beams and rich history: a dramatic setting for fireside chats, superb breakfasts (home-reared, baked, grown) - and Midsomer Murders