Family-friendly hotel on Ullswater with a pool and a variety of bedrooms, some super-cool - swim in the lake, walk in the hills, eat well

Independent B&B in an ancient hamlet with modern interiors, immaculate bedrooms and a pleasant wooden terrace for sunny days

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

Near lively Lyon, this handsome family house is perfect for a Zen-like escape with delicious vegetarian meals and well-travelled hosts

A chilled, family-friendly hotel on a sandy surfing beach with huge views and a sensational pool with sustainability at its heart

Welcome to an immaculate and historic retreat with private gardens, ten minutes from the Finistère coast (and oysters!)

Ease into a slower way of life from this beautiful Tuscan farmhouse surrounded by vineyards in the valley below medieval Montepulciano

Friendly hosts, lovely log fires, delicious dinners, interesting antiques – and Frederick’s special tours of a WWI memorial site

A magical medieval castello, gloriously gothic with tower, moat and ghost, fit for a Shakespearian play.

A rustic-chic bolthole with bird's eye views to gaze at from your bedroom and the beautiful garden, tucked in a quaint hamlet in Maremma

An intimate cottage in deepest Cheshire, perfect for exploring Roman Chester, walking or relaxing in the garden

There's a pared-back unforced elegance to this stone barn sitting quietly in its own grounds beside a cobbled courtyard awash with roses

An 18th-century beamed inn with tasty food, pretty bedrooms and a large garden just a ten-minute drive from Chichester

This secluded New Forest inn is a magnet for families in summer: a good pint and the log fire make it a superb winter hideaway too

Outside a perfect bastide village, an elegant manoir for lazy days in the Dordogne, fabulous dinners and glorious gardens

Good old-fashioned hospitality in a quiet Highlands cottage ringed by roses and roe deer. Forest and coastal walks, shortbread and tea

You'll find comfortable rooms, great food and a lovely bar at this friendly inn – Heartbeat country, Castle Howard and Whitby all wait