Independence at one end of the house with your own sitting room opening onto a courtyard garden. Good pub for food a few minutes' walk away

Dinner fresh from the garden with your creative hosts is an absolute delight. Roam unspoilt countryside, visit châteaux and vineyards galore

Come to walk, cycle, fish and hunker down in style in front of the wood-burner - sleep in deep comfort in a lovingly converted barn

Live in the lap of luxury in a 600-year-old regenerated farmhouse, enjoy fine fittings, great lighting, games, castle view and infinity pool

In wine country, a beautifully revived 16th-century manor and hospitable B&B. Visit Angers’ cathedral, cruise along the Loire to Saumur

A fairytale château with ancient roots, now beautifully renovated with lovely bedrooms, terrace, garden and ponds for gracious living

Gather family or friends and take both villa and cottage. The terraces and gardens have long views, the pool is roomy and the peace palpable

On the site of an old sawmill in the mountains of the Jura, a guesthouse of warmth and charm - with table d'hôtes, a pool and a spa

Blissful tranquillity - yet an easy drive from St Paul de Vence (legendary haunt of Matisse and Picasso) and 10km from the Riviera

Gorgeous rooms and splendid breakfasts – for sybarites, history-lovers, cyclists and canoeists - bang in the middle of ancient Long Melford

Two lovely cottages with a fresh, modern style, private terrace, tranquil communal gardens with an orchard and pool

Restored stone barn on a farm in the Lake District National Park, with views of fields and woods and an excellent pub nearby

In the foothills of the Pyrenees, a rambling, romantic garden to lose yourself in, a large swimming pool, wildlife and vineyards all around

Plunge into real Spain from this ancient village house with very modern interiors, stunning views, a cooling pool and a hop from restaurants

A delightfully Lilliputian Georgian cottage with all mod cons at the end of a terrace just a short walk to shops, cafés and the beach

Three eco-friendly, fully accessible timber-clad lodges and three cabins on a private, beautiful lake - a Sawday's Community Champion

For escapists, wannabe writers and lovers of rural bliss: two boho hideaways for two (four at a squeeze) in this lush corner of Galicia