If you want to come to Venice as an open-hearted traveller rather than a tourist then this is the place for you - just walk to everything

Come to shed your city cares, eat wonderful local food, spend time in simple, authentic surroundings and remind yourselves about serenity

Treat yourselves to a stay in the gloriously comfortable Astor Wing with private terrace and views to Hever Castle and the Tudor Garden

Come for an exceptionally inviting 17th-century inn, a chocolate-box Cotswold village, excellent local food and ales, very comfortable rooms

Peace, space, nature in the Champagne-hugged Somme valley - and home-grown, organic meals with generous French hosts. Family-perfect

Set off on blissful walks, trek home to crumpets and tea. There’s no better place to escape the 21st century than rural Devon

Simple country cottage living on a working organic farm. Bring your hiking boots or bikes, stride out from the door

A big, beamed contemporary barn filled with light and surrounded by unspoilt countryside for a romantic retreat.

Two lovely cottages sleeping eight for very special holidays with a private beach, acres of land to explore and a welcome hamper of dreams

Settle in, relax, enjoy the local food - walk the dramatically beautiful coast path, explore rich West Wales from this handsome old house

View-filled, beautifully converted and toasty warm, this old donkey shed is perfect for walkers, cyclists, peace-seekers and lovers

Smart country inn in Constable country with lovely rooms and food - grab a picnic, hire a boat and drift along the river Stour

Citrus scents the air, loungers flank a spakling pool. Light, cool, simple rooms, vibrant hosts, garden and olive groves - divine food

An upmarket, very comfortable old stone village house with tasty breakfasts and a sunny courtyard full of colourful flowers

Steps from the sea in get-away-from-it-all scenery – half an hour’s walk from St Ives’ arty heart. Sleeps 4 with pull-out beds for 2 more

Restored stone barn on a farm in the Lake District National Park, with views of fields and woods and an excellent pub nearby

Refurbished pub in a village high in the hills of the North York Moors, with stylish rooms and unpretentious food using quality ingredients

A beautiful villa with a medieval tower surrounded by formal gardens, gentle slopes of perfectly maintained vineyards and wooded hilltops