Characterful and family-friendly apartments on this lovely wine-country estate: great hosts, glorious grounds and pool, home-grown food

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

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

A Victorian house on a 5000 acre estate, snazzily renovated and tucked down a track with a private lake, in the quieter part of Cumbria

Stunning, spacious 3-storey converted mill with stylish bedrooms. Cook just-caught brown trout from the river, eat at a hand built oak table

A swishly renovated detached hideaway up a hill, surrounded by vineyards and with a covered deck for sweeping views just outside Beaune

A converted coach house and stables, now one long cottage with much space, a country house feel and your own walled garden

Feel like the lord or lady of the manor at this sublime restoration of a Tudor, timber-framed stone house in lovely Ludlow

A spiritual, rustic retreat for nature-lovers, writers, artists. In protected woodland, well away from bustle, close to the lapping river

Loved by estate-workers, visitors, well-heeled locals, and walkers, this spruced-up pub is a friendly launchpad for Chatsworth

A 15th-century hotel and spa with beamed lounges and two restaurants, standing proudly on the high street

Rustic, relaxing, comfortable and fun with pool and play area, river beaches, great hosts, peaceful countryside, an hour from Porto

On the riverside, a short walk into Godalming, this lovely 18th-century pub with a peaceful garden has beautiful bedrooms and inventive menus

Four gîtes in the château’s vast barn, one in the tower. Magnificent mountain and valley views, and Sandrine’s regionally inspired meals

Flop in a hammock and be lulled by Mediterranean scents and breezes, relax in an ancient trullo - come here for raw beauty and long views

Lovely stone-built dog-friendly cottages with a pool in glorious, quiet surroundings near to lakes, mountains and wide sandy beaches

A working farm with well renovated ancient buildings among 200 acres of pastures and forest. It's quiet here in the glorious Périgord

A roomy, open-plan space for romantics, with complete privacy but with pub, bakery and views of the market garden from your own terrace