A beguiling retreat for a couple or a family of four – feel cosy and secluded in a thatched cottage close to the coast

Come down to the Meon Valley and be (very gently) nudged towards a better way of living - a Sawday's Community Champion

Portraits, paintings and a historic look-out tower, pool, gardens and delicious breakfasts... San Fabiano captures everyone’s heart

Breathe, relax in peaceful Provençal countryside: olives, lavender and budding fruit trees. Aix's lively markets are 10 minutes away

If you need a great place in which to relax and don’t want to pay too much for it, try these excellent suites, which spoil you all the way

A light and bright converted milking parlour in a rural idyll with a barbecue hut, a spa overlooked by horses and a shared hot tub

A hugely seductive and stylish special place - with magnificent views, pool and bikes, vineyards and hilltop villages to visit

An artist's house imbued with an understated elegance. Stay for dinner; be charmed by the garden where fruit trees throng, hens loiter

Be warmly welcomed by your knowledgeable hosts at this eco-conscious lodge for four in the Dordogne. Immerse yourself in all things wine

Warmth and comfort on the Pink Granite Coast where the wind and waves lull you to sleep, and bedrooms overlook the cedars or the sea

A B&B in a WWF-protected botanical garden beside Lake Maggiore. Wander and explore, take a dip in the lake. This place invites you to unwind

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

You’ll love Tintinhull Gardens, Montacute House, Ham Hill, the Prince of Wales pub... and this sweet, fresh, cosy, rustic cottage for two

A sweet bolthole for two and a babe-in-arms or pooch in friendly, foodie Ramsbottom with walks straight into woods and moors

Three comfortable stone houses clustered around the owners' home. Glorious views spread out below you across rolling countryside

Elegant 19th-century château deep in the Dordogne forest promises seclusion, serenity and an unhurried, sun-soaked escape.

Stone farmhouse on a country estate, family-run for centuries. Views of the towered gatehouse, pool and tennis court, a walk to the river...

Elegance and ease mark this gentle group of Loire-Valley buildings, with soft-textured interiors and the owners’ fine hospitality and food