Birders will love escaping up here, golfers too - visit Hatfield House, Knebworth, Cambridge - come back to a good local pub and a comfy bed

A cosy cottage on a farm down a long winding track, wonderfully rural with footpaths across fields or along the canal

In the beautiful Somerset hamlet of St Catherine, a cosy wooden cabin surrounded by fields and woods. Wonderful walks from the front door...

Come for one of the most beautiful villages in the Welland Valley and this charming hotel with peaceful, elegant rooms and lovely food

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

Families will adore coming here, to reconnect through wonderful outdoor activities in glorious countryside and to feel cossetted indoors

A hop to Montpellier, but deep in the countryside: a romantic pad, with Moroccan rugs, ochre-limed walls and bikes to ride into the country

A grand, 16th-century Breton château complete with dovecote, turret and chapel surrounded by 50 acres of parkland, woods and small lake

Immerse yourself in rural Lot at this eco retreat – hiking and cycling from the door, a natural swimming pool and serene gardens