A stunning château with huge rooms, pretty balconies with views, peaceful garden. Super owners, excellent dinners - and child-friendly too

A gorgeously tranquil place to escape to and fall in love with the Périgord's medieval villages, valleys, wines, markets and artisan farms

An eye-catching ancient inn with a colourful flower garden in summer, delicious local food and very presentable bedrooms

A pretty little cottage in a holiday hamlet surrounded by fields, just a stone's throw from the coast and Binic for happy escapes

Two rural retreats up a shared drive for gatherings of friends and family who enjoy the great outdoors and good food from the Meikleour Inn

Gracious hosts pamper guests in their family mansion, with a wellness spa, fire-warmed lounge and four-course meals from a talented chef

An enviable hideaway on a cobbled street high on a hill, with stunning views next to Galileo's house, the Villa Bardini and gardens

Steam in the hot tub, gaze over crashing waves or later stars. Inside is swish, kids play in their games room, dinner is in view of the sea

Choose the atmospheric early Georgian house or the garden bedrooms, all have views, Paul's welcome is genuine and his dinners delicious

Serene, panoramic views from picture windows at this off-grid romantic bolthole in the hills with a cosy wood-burner and local treats

Good looking barn conversion for sociable gatherings on an organic farm – meet the animals, take a day trip, go walking

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

A magnificent Victorian clock tower on a peaceful, bird-filled estate with a garden, gorgeous views across the park and activities to join

Choose between airy bedrooms up an elegant stair, or magnificent rooms at garden-level with private terraces. Find sweetness and warmth

Sun-soaked stillness, saltwater dips and garden scents of fig and rosemary - slow days unfold between olive trees and a sky full of stars

A converted 19th-century church in the Northumberland National Park with beautiful stained-glass windows and a restored tower

Superbly comfortable house with beamed rooms, lovely views, club-like morning room, antiques, terrace, pool, fitness centre and lily pond

Get away from it all in 'old' France, where melons taste like melons & hikes start from the door. This rural bolthole is a serious treat