Airy, spacious, sunny. This Lot gîte is a delight: linen curtains, oak stair, sunny pool. Sarlat and painted caves are an easy venture away

In the Welsh Marches, down winding lanes, a delightful refurbished hop pickers' house - romantic bolthole for 2. Friendly owners, too

An eco B&B (minus hair shirt) in the stunning Meon Valley surrounded by woodland and wildlife - a Sawday's Community Champion

A luxurious 1920s manor house with superbly stylish rooms, secluded gardens and a heated pool; close to the Picardy coast

An exquisitely restored 500-year-old inn, where the accent is very much on food, reared and grown nearby and with very comfortable rooms

Magnificent house with old-fashioned charm and gardens leading down to the Beaulieu River – take the footpath to Beaulieu or Bucklers Hard

A most enchanting and welcoming Provençal mas sitting in acres of private parkland with woods, meadows and a small lake for magical stays

A lovely big house with huge riverside gardens and an easy-going charm – a 15-minute walk from bookish Hay-on-Wye

Gather family or friends and take both villa and cottage. The terraces and gardens have long views, the pool is roomy and the peace palpable

Step into the valley region from this beautifully restored 17th-century house surrounded by saltwater and freshwater canals and lakes

Two charming cottages a stroll from the Coast Path, surf school, shop, pub and restaurant. Take both cottages for a big family get-together

Gloriously cool in summer, cosy in winter, a 365-day-a-year retreat. Just a 10-minute promenade along the beach into the fun heart of town

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

Saint Emilion and Castillon both a hop away from a warm, wonderful barn with owners to match. Stylish, cosy and deep in organic vines

A luxurious springboard for the wineries, villages and treasures of south Tuscany in the magical Orcia valley - if you can bear to leave it!

Come for a sense of complete peace surrounded by country and coast with wonderful interiors to boot – a bolthole for two (plus two)

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

Art-filled and atmospheric, with stunning sea views and a sunny walled garden. Just moments from the beaches and charms of Lyme Regis