Your friendly hosts offer you stylish bedrooms, swims in the heated pool, and wonderful dinners and wines. Cahors is only a 10-minute drive

Come for super ridgeway walks and explore charming towns and villages from this pretty 18th-century cottage in the Chalke Valley

Come for a traffic-free medieval hamlet in sleepy Maremma with easy-going hosts, a beautiful garden and views over the valley

Tranquil cottage tucked away on a private estate on the Llyn Peninsula, with walks starting from the door and unspoiled beaches to discover

Birders will love escaping up here, golfers too - visit Hatfield House, Knebworth, Cambridge - come back to a good local pub and a comfy bed

Up, up and away to this stunning cottage perched 1400 feet high in the National Park with big skies, grand walks and much comfort indoors

Welcome to authentic Andalucía… a friendly foodie B&B in a farming community surrounded by olive groves, midway between Córdoba & Granada

A romantic creekside cottage down a web of narrow lanes in a tumbling green valley – mess about on the water to your heart’s content

Escape to the heart of the Haute-Savoie and this impressive château near Annecy, Mont Blanc and Lake Geneva

Marvellously quirky bolthole right on Lyme Regis seafront with stunning views; perfect for beach combers and boutique browsers

Lavender shortbread and baked peaches for breakfast at this most artistic of homes. The courtyard with magnolia and orange trees is lovely

Vistas of olive groves, village life and the sea; gaze and daydream from this beautiful spot. A Michelin recommended restaurant to boot

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

If you want to come to Venice as an open-hearted traveller rather than a tourist then this is the place for you - just walk to everything

Hospitable Jorge and Clotilde love nothing more than sharing their colourful, chaotic old house with guests. The farm produce is fabulous

A peaceful retreat in an unspoilt woody corner of Sussex. Bring dogs and children for fabulous walking on the South Downs Way

A traditional, grand 1850 townhouse sitting in a large, landscaped garden with mature trees, a short walk to the village centre and square