Explore country markets, churches and châteaux - return to a gite in private parkland with an artist's studio on site, and a blissful pool

For families who love a Great British beach holiday, this beach-side cottage on Hayling Island near Portsmouth is just the ticket

A grand yet very homely place with tasty home cooking and 200 acres to explore. Play golf, sail, cycle – wonderfully informal

An 18th-century limestone barn, now a quiet hideaway for a group of friends or family in a very rural spot surrounded by fields and woods

Come for fine food and drink, sumptuous bedrooms and a relaxed, informal atmosphere at this gorgeous Cotswold manor house with ancient roots

You’ll eat well here, among locals who love the food. The village is quiet, the rooms serenely modern. A great base for a holiday en famille

Starry skies, wild beauty and total peace are yours in these sustainable, solar-powered eco-lodges

A lovely wisteria-clad inn in a traditional Cotswold village with grand walks, a pretty garden, tasty food and thoughtful bedrooms

A stylish, refined 17th-century house off a quiet street with its own garden and lots of generous surprises, a short hop to everything

A big, rambling inn – welcoming and unpretentious with deep sofas, eclectic artwork, tasty food and exceedingly comfortable bedrooms

A sculptor's studio, flooded with light, converted into a restful holiday home surrounded by glorious countryside, near Totnes

A sustainably-designed small, family-run eco hotel within a nature park by the sea in stunning Basque country. Great food too

On the side of a hill in the little-known Marche, a happy young farmhouse with an elegant saltwater pool, and wonderful meals from Kelda

A stylish, thoughtful and impressive place for a family holiday, in a dreamy Charentais landscape with the odd sheep to keep you company

Hear the rooting of wild boar and the odd splash of the pool. For those who love fresh air, great food, and the sweet hills of Umbria

Light-filled gites share a lovely pool, with pétanque, ping-pong and bikes to borrow – bring friends and take all three

Fine linens, cool pool and a barbecue for this soothing barn renovation in a dreamy corner of Tuscany. Friendly owners can cook on request

A lovely, rambling old house for family gatherings with an extra cottage for bigger groups, a gorgeous garden and hilltop villages nearby