Spend restful days in a verdant garden, slip into the cooling pool, sip wine on your private balcony, stroll into arty Benissa

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

A renovated barn, part stone, part wood, resembling the tobacco barns of the area with beautiful grounds surrounded by farmland

A recently renovated and very comfortable stand-alone limestone cottage with fabulous views on the edge of the Easton Walled Gardens

Two family and dog friendly retreats for lovers of the countryside, birdwatchers and those wishing to escape the crowds

Old meets new in Benoit’s charming villa with courtyard pool, breakfasts to linger over and all the fun of La Baule on the doorstep

Warm interiors, pretty bedrooms and excellent breakfasts – good value in a very handy central spot

A lovely little bolthole to return to after days out exploring pretty Cotswold villages and walking in an AONB straight from the door

A beautifully-restored Devon bank barn at the end of a quiet lane in the glorious South Hams, just right for a couple or small family

Country house set in a secluded valley in a nature reserve with a pool & walks from the door. The small town of Jabugo is just over the hill

Three gîtes in the Dordogne with panoramic countryside views and a swimming pool – book individually or together for a group holiday

Friendly inn close to Glastonbury. Locals come for breakfast, there's a lively bar and excellent bedrooms, some with a bath in the room

A fabulous Belle Epoque château with much wow factor set in vast grounds with lawns and lakes, circled by a dense forest

A lovingly restored ancient farmhouse surrounded by wildlife-rich countryside just two miles from stunning beaches – a place to mend

Foodies will love the irresistible cooking - along with local wine and a typically Tuscan setting. Bedrooms are pretty

A rustic and elegant farmhouse retreat in Provence with a pool, vineyards and wildlife-filled pond – a launchpad for the Luberon

A contemporary country-house hotel with a lovely spa and peaceful gardens - Sandringham and the north Norfolk coast are close