The holiday starts on the bumpy track along to this Arts & Crafts style modern house with plenty of space and a wrap-around garden

A hop from St Mark’s Square, this long-standing hotel - a delightful family affair - could not be better placed for exploring Venice

Traditional and modern, verging on the opulent. Find a stone-flagged tap room for walkers, top modern food and Chatsworth-perfect bedrooms

A roomy, stylish barn conversion in Devon's rolling hills with wonderful walks from the door and panoramic views of the Exe valley

Perched in gorgeous gardens and with stunning views, this 18th-century presbytery has lovely rooms and an excellent gourmet restaurant

Free-spirited travellers rejoice! A super house on a volcanic Sicilian island – hike, sail, dive & immerse yourself in local life

You have the whole North Wing of this beautiful old farmhouse with a private east-facing courtyard for early morning tea as the sun rises

Feel French in this very beautiful 300-year-old house with a large garden and pool in a hilltop medieval village of winding, cobbled streets

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

Cosy 17th-century cottage in a village inland from Wells-next-the-Sea and with easy access to north Norfolk's main attractions

A friendly family-run inn, ideal for foodies and dog-walkers who love their comforts. Peaceful, remote, but with Sherborne a short drive

Two elegant village houses for big happy gatherings of friends and family with a yoga studio, spacious courtyard and glistening pool

An old farm worker's cottage, niftily done up and nicely remote, with walking and fishing on the doorstep, four miles from Hadrian's Wall

A lovely gîte, once a hunting lodge, with two private terraces overlooking the manicured gardens of an 1830s manor house

Swing off the main road through the village, up into the hills along a narrow track and through a gate, observed by curious sheep

A perfectly renovated farmhouse in the grounds of a delightful château deep in the Normandy countryside, with a lovely walled garden

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

Two comfortably converted farm buildings, with a shared pool on a gentle south-east sloping vineyard with wonderful views