Feel right at home in a thatched farmhouse on South Pool Creek, with cottage garden views, great breakfasts and a good local pub

A grand dining hall and super kitchen, perfect for big gatherings. Spot spoonbills on the salt marsh, sea swim or walk to delis and pubs

Gaze over sublime vistas, refresh in the plunge pool, cook up a barbecue treat. A Provençal studio, simply furnished and deeply relaxing

Pluck grapes, splash in the child-shallow pool and explore the ‘Yorkshire of Italy’ with rolling green hills and conical trulli

Slowly does it at a rustic haven run with infectious enthusiasm and kindness by a truffle hunter with a passion for nature and food

Good restaurants, beach walks, a grand welcome for dogs: that’s Whitstable. Bring friends and stay in this smart house close to it all

Come for the great outdoors and wrap-around views of Muncaster Fell and Scafell Pike from this warm, bright and spacious Passivhaus

Unwind here with wine tours, tastings, long walks, bird watching, cycling, or just chilling.Sleep peacefully, feel at home

A fine old stone mill, the river rushing by, kingfishers, kayaking, swimming: it’s a dream place with Provence and the Cévennes at the door

Wisteria, clematis and roses clamber up this pretty stone barn conversion with its own big garden surrounded by mature trees and many birds

An elegant, super central bolthole for two (or three): stroll everywhere, hop on a vaporetto, sit in piazzas drinking cappuccino, live like a local

Traditional bedrooms lie under the beams of this fascinating country mansion - a grand, hospitable B&B near St Malo and sand beaches

Two riverside properties with incredible views, for walkers, sailors, dogs... and self-caterers who aim to be spoiled rotten

Beautifully connected, engagingly old-fashioned London pad, with a garden. Head out for Vauxhall Park, the Tate, Westminster...

Ascot is a trot down the road and there's a really cosy, cottagey feel to this quaint 18th-century inn with great food and comfy bedrooms

Laze under the loggia, drink in superb, sweeping Umbrian views and wine from the vines beyond the pool; sleep peacefully in grand style

An adorable whitewashed crofter's cottage on the Wern Estate with pretty gardens, a bird-filled woodland and glorious walks from the door

Perched on a hilltop in a nature reserve, two lovely places to stay. Hike and beach-hop all day before relaxing in the pool