Quaint barns dotted among truffle oaks and rosemary, each one constructed the old-fashioned way and close to the Dordogne and Vézère

Heaps to do on-site: organic farm shop & café, cookery & cheese-making courses, farm tours. A brilliant base for exploring the Cotswolds too

A small, quirky country house hotel with lovely staff, pretty rooms and heavenly food served in a pillared dining room

A fascinating place steeped in history and abuzz with prize-winning winery activity. Plus rustic cottages, golf, a restaurant and 2 pools

Big house with bags of character and easy access to beaches, cafés and cobbled streets, coastal paths and hidden coves

A magical chateau set in the forested hills of Burgundy with lovely rooms, peaceful walks, home cooking and a merry welcome

You get the best of all worlds here. Delicious beds, Provençal soaps, vineyard views, fresh croissants a stroll away…

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

A lovely gîte, once a hunting lodge, with two private terraces overlooking the manicured gardens of an 1830s manor house

This deeply peaceful retreat will soothe the soul; come to walk, bike, sail then back to a roaring fire and good book. A sublime spot

An authentic, charming and spacious home with garden, pool and lake, deep in the Dordogne valley and decorated with uncluttered elegance

A family-run 1700s thatched Inn in a rural hamlet with super food, a grand team to look after you and picnic benches in a pretty garden

A friendly family-run inn, ideal for foodies and dog-walkers who love their comforts. Peaceful, remote, but with Sherborne a short drive

Great taste – in decor and food – and a delicious heated pool. Views swoop over field and valley; trails, villages, wineries tempt

A 17th-century townhouse sitting on a quiet side street with lots of original features and a west-facing patio screened by vines and lemons

A stroll from the village, this comfy house in its terraced garden comes with a keen-cook's kitchen, a generous terrace and pool

A small, family-run boutique hotel sitting right at the foot of Etna with wonderful views, garden, pool and ambrosial Sicilian breakfasts

Cosy apartment for two in a cluster of farm buildings near Hawkshead, surrounded by countryside and with a good pub a stroll away