Tradition and comfort on the border with Wales, a welcoming country-house hotel with warm rooms, pretty gardens and delicious food

Birders will love escaping up here, golfers too - visit Hatfield House, Knebworth, Cambridge - come back to a good local pub and a comfy bed

An 18th-century listed cottage in a pretty terrace with a private courtyard garden and pond, just a short walk from the high street

A confident style for this mid-19th-century house, with a Mediterranean garden, elegant terrace and pool, a stroll from the historic centre

Come for big skies, loch views, much wildlife, acres of forest and a charming wood-clad cottage from which to explore such a remote spot

Delightful hamlet of beautifully restored cottages with a pool, surrounded by fields, forest and deer. The perfect spot for a digital detox

Rural French heaven at this lovely farm within four hectares. Natural materials, neutral colours and a lavender-lined pool all to yourselves

Escape to the heart of the Haute-Savoie and this impressive château near Annecy, Mont Blanc and Lake Geneva

A proper old-fashioned inn dating from the 1600s with beamed ceilings, low doorways and winding staircases up to comfortable bedrooms

A sprint from London: a Cotswolds pub modernised with sympathy and care. Happy staff, organic ales and food, gorgeous rooms

A cool pub with smart rooms, English ales and Thai-inspired food. Farringdon tube is round the corner and you can walk to the Barbican

A fairytale château with ancient roots, now beautifully renovated with lovely bedrooms, terrace, garden and ponds for gracious living

You’ll find Norfolk ales, French wines and a hint of eccentricity at this old-school inn, where local food and comfy beds keep you smiling

Nestled next to the main house, this feels part cottage and part townhouse, making a cosy retreat just a couple of miles from the coast

A privilege to be able to stay within the famous gardens of magnificent Château de Courances. The painter's village of Barbizon is nearby

A medieval monastery, stunningly revived, in untouristy, car-free Pisciotta. Sip greco on the terrace; scramble through olives to the sea

On its own wooded estate, a special manor house of character. Art on the walls, maps and wellies to borrow, gardens to romp in, super views

Walkers and wild-lifers, here is your place in the Pyrenees. Colour, character, a welcoming family, log fires and delicious home cooking