Delightful B&B on a working farm, generous hosts welcome you with tea and homemade cake. Bring a piece of furniture and give it a facelift!

Two homely gîtes sleeping 4 and 2 in rural farm country. Walk to the bakery; drive 15 minutes to Saint-Malo and riverside restaurants

Cosy cabin hideaway packed with vintage charm. Enjoy lovely orchard views and a rustic wood-fired bath under the apple trees

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

Glass-and-timber doors bathe you with light, gaze at big skies and the river Dart lapping. Sublime year round, it's one of our favourites

Gather the clans and just come. It's lovely here among acres of wildlife-filled grounds – a Sawday's Community Champion

A warm and colourful B&B with generous owners, elegant bedrooms and an outdoor pool, in the heart of a pretty town near Toulouse

Unwind in elegant interiors and set out on long walks in beautiful countryside; Chichester and Winchester are near

Escape to your own snug bolthole above a beautiful hall. Creative village community, tasty breakfast delivered, come and go as you please

Luxuriate in style at this central Lecce palazzo with gorgeous rooms, delicious breakfasts (lunch & dinner by arrangement). Walk everywhere

An impressive manor house set in gentle rolling countryside ten miles from Oxford with a delightful garden, warm hosts and organic breakfast

A stroll from the village, this comfy house in its terraced garden comes with a keen-cook's kitchen, a generous terrace and pool

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

A cosy bolt hole near medieval Cartmel with woods, meadows and wildlife – great for walkers in this quiet part of the South Lakes

If you need a great place in which to relax and don’t want to pay too much for it, try these excellent suites, which spoil you all the way

A handsome Georgian townhouse pub in Newbury, with a name steeped in local lore and Donnington Castle just up the road

A very pretty old converted cart shed at the end of a track on an organic farm, surrounded by wildlife, birds and animals in the fields