Independence at one end of the house with your own sitting room opening onto a courtyard garden. Good pub for food a few minutes' walk away

Historic and impeccably presented apartment in charming Stockbridge, a stroll from shops, restaurants and Botanic Gardens

A beautifully restored townhouse in the heart of Amboise, steps from Leonardo da Vinci's last home and the great Château Royal

This small hotel with pool has elegant communal spaces, spoiling bedrooms, kind staff, delicious food and panoramic mountain views

Bright, cosy cottage off the beaten track between the South Hams and Dartmoor, with good pubs nearby and an en suite ground-floor bedroom

An elegant, historical building in the heart of Catania - an intimate hotel, yet grand with gorgeous architecture and a wonderful welcome

Come on down to this working farm for delicious organic food, an on-site sourdough bakery and crisp bedrooms in a pretty farmhouse

Georgian country house with rustic charm and a home-from-home feel. In the heart of Wiltshire just outside historic town Bradford-on-Avon

A cracking spot for this thatched and beamed 17th-century village inn with lovely gardens, just a half-mile stroll from Lulworth Cove

Technically in Florence yet immersed in the Tuscan hills: easy comfort, country character, warm wonderful hosts, heavenly views

Cosied up by the fire in your farmhouse high on the moor you’ll feel miles from civilisation, while Chatsworth is just minutes away

With Snowdonia on the doorstep and the Menai Strait at your feet, this handsome Welsh manor has history, heritage and heavenly views

Come for the rural charm of this cottage. Green as far as the eye can see, near a village surrounded by rivers. Wellies essential

A warm, comfortable and light-filled 1800s cottage with south-facing garden and absolutely wonderful views over the Kyles of Bute

A grand old Georgian building with a big old welcoming atmosphere, roaring fires, delicious food, ales and wine, warm and calming bedrooms

Former blacksmith’s workshop in a chocolate-box corner of the New Forest, where clematis climbs the trellis and all you hear are the birds

Steps from the sea in get-away-from-it-all scenery – half an hour’s walk from St Ives’ arty heart. Sleeps 4 with pull-out beds for 2 more