Like staying in a family home, only with Henri III furniture and rolling green views. Energetic hosts cook, farm, hunt, chat over champagne

For lovers of tranquillity and simple pleasures with a private pool, tennis court, stunning views and forty acres to explore

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 dear little cottage, full of interesting things, overlooking tranquil farmland on the Stackpole Estate just a 20-minute walk to the coast

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

Chiara’s blissfully informal hillside home is a hard place to leave... Guests can get involved with cookery courses or the olive harvest

A welcoming country-house hotel that’s popular with locals and visitors alike - good food, stylish rooms and an airy restaurant wait

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

A beautiful 18th-century manor house on a productive wine estate with an enticing garden, spa and pool by a nature reserve. Views soar

A 17th-century Grade II listed inn, bustling with a mix of visitors and locals, friendly staff, very comfortable rooms and scrumptious food

A 17th-century Westmorland barn, fully renovated with a roomy living space and west-facing garden with views of High Street and Blencathra

In wild Jura, surrounded by fields and heather-covered hills, a secluded farmhouse with cosy rooms and sublime views of Small Isles Bay

High in the Tuscan hills, at the end of an avenue of cypresses, surrounded by parkland and acres of olives... a 13th-century dream

A comfortable and characterful 1775 gatekeeper's lodge on the Mount Congreve Estate with access to the magnificent gardens

A real treat for a grown-up getaway, with stunning sea views and arty touches at every turn, right in the heart of bustling Brighton