A serene restaurant-hotel on Chesil beach, with a perfect view of the big blue sea. How restorative can a hotel be?

Secluded place with home-grown food, much peace and walks by the river for a couple (or small family). Courses and solo retreats too

A soothing, deeply romantic bolthole with simple interiors and its own little private garden, next to a winery and surrounded by vineyards

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

Bright, cosy cottage in a quiet Devon village, four miles from Totnes, with two good pubs nearby and an en suite ground-floor bedroom

A small, charming house with ravishing sea views within walking distance of a bohemian coastal village at the foot of the Teix mountain

Gloriously green rural self-catering apartments with pool and lovely, friendly owners

Simple country cottage living on a working organic farm. Bring your hiking boots or bikes, stride out from the door

An unbeatable position on Rutland Water, a Michelin star in the restaurant, a roaring fire in the bar and a swimming pool in the garden

Three comfortable stone houses clustered around the owners' home. Glorious views spread out below you across rolling countryside

A gorgeous old gardener's house in grand Belle Epoque style, filled with every comfort and sitting in the grounds of a magnificent château

Fabulous bakes and hot waffles at breakfast, green fields all around and Normandy steeped in history. Great for foodies and historians

Gaze on Umbrian hills as the children play, watch the fireflies dance at night. Dine fabulously in Gubbio - or here. Sociable-family bliss

A smart launch pad for visiting all things Champagne-related and Reims with its enchanting cathedral. All is cosy, luxurious...

A light and bright converted milking parlour in a rural idyll with a barbecue hut, a spa overlooked by horses and a shared hot tub

A big, beamed contemporary barn filled with light and surrounded by unspoilt countryside for a romantic retreat.

Luxurious living combines with bleating sheep and bells from the church next door - 4 fabulous retreats on the Cotentin Peninsula

Modest and authentic, a top-floor apartment in an eco-friendly Provençal farmhouse, with dogs and hens. River swims are a stroll away...