Lovely old house with award-winning restaurant and indoor swimming pool. Sleeps up to 18 so just the ticket for a big family gathering

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

An 18th-century cottage for four on a working sheep farm: walk the Pentland Hills, get the bus to Edinburgh for culture

Hilltop château on the edge of a small village half an hour from Saint-Émilion, with a lovely garden, a swimming pool and two lakes

This architect-designed passive style house sits just behind the sand dunes at Waxham beach, one of Norfolk’s most lovely beaches

Vineyards, fruit trees and immaculate gardens, amazing food and wine, a sense of seclusion and sweeping views of the Tuscan hills

A relaxed and stylish hotel on the Norfolk coast with an impressive restaurant, sumptuous bedrooms and super staff

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

Light and sunny annexe with your own entrance in the centre of vibrant Buckfastleigh with lovely gardens, for couples plus a child or two

A spacious farmhouse with a pool in the grounds of a stately château. Wander the walled garden, explore the countryside and pretty villages

Generous apartments in a 300-year-old farmhouse with beautiful grounds and a swimming pool

Classic coaching inn in a bustling village offers restful rooms, real ales and the Cotswolds on your doorstep

A celebration of all things Somerset in a thatched village opposite the church and close to National Trust Barrington Court and Gardens

An airy, well-designed hideaway for two in an ancient barn on a quiet farm. This is prime walking country with Hadrian’s Wall nearby.

A rustic and elegant farmhouse retreat in Provence with a pool, vineyards and wildlife-filled pond – a launchpad for the Luberon

Lovely rooms in this characterful villa, perfect for exploring Burgundy’s Grand Crus, walking to vineyards or sipping wine by the pool

Lodge and gardens – superbly designed, immaculate, fresh, eco friendly – rest in unspoilt Picardy. Anglo-French hosts take turns to cook

Sublime views across the Tuscan countryside, seasonal food and the kindest host. Children are welcome, oenophiles will be in heaven