Plenty of restful, comfortable space indoors and out in the Mediterranean garden with its courtyard pool – restaurants to walk to

Retreat to this sweet, peaceful cottage with suntrap courtyard garden enveloped in rolling hills just a short hop from the Jurassic Coast

This old stone building, a former olive warehouse, is beautifully restored and sits on its own – a simple bolthole for rest and recuperation

Contemporary studio in a classic Cotswold village. Peaceful bolthole for creatives and walkers - with shops, cafés and pubs a stroll away

An off-grid retreat; embrace a slower pace of life at this peaceful, characterful home. Surf, cycle and walk then stargaze in utter peace

1800s coastal watchtower meets organic farm at a small hotel with a proud restaurateur and sea views from high mezzanine rooms

Bags of character within and without at this four-storey village house with rooftop views over the mountains, next to a 12th-century church

Glorious airy living space in this superbly restored barn, a terrace with long views and a pool across the garden - bikes to borrow too

A spacious, luxurious family retreat, remote but close to Audierne. Watch surfers shoot the waves as seagulls wheel above

White-painted beams, wonky white walls and your own parking spot fairly nearby. You're near the harbour and subtropical gardens

A fabulous Belle Epoque château with much wow factor set in vast grounds with lawns and lakes, circled by a dense forest

A lovely farmhouse in Lot with acres of garden and a summer kitchen. Come ‘en famille’ for food, wine and lazy days by the pool.

Leave crowds behind for this charming stone farmhouse in the olive groves of rural Umbria – bring friends and have it all to yourselves

A magnificent medieval tower in the grounds of an 18th-century château sitting in a dreamy valley. Come for superb gardens and architecture

This friendly, Scottish island B&B has the Atlantic at the end of the garden and air so clean the lichen grows like beards from the trees

Ensconce yourselves in the Black Périgord and stay in the East Wing of a 16th-century castle with private garden and surrounding parkland

A great base from which to explore beautiful Pembrokeshire - walk by the coast, take to the hills, check out ancient St Davids