The sort of inn we all love – open fires, original beams, ancient flags, tasty food, with lovely bedrooms thrown in for good measure

A red-brick cottage and Shepherd’s hut in a magical garden with a cookery school and views over the South Downs

A warm and convivial place steeped in French history with an interesting, kind host who really looks after you. Under an hour from Paris too

An 18th-century coaching inn wrapped in countryside now a relaxed pub with rooms serving excellent food and drink with 16 inviting bedrooms

A fortified castle in parkland, built mostly in the 1300s on the Montbazens plateau, near to the stunning Averyon gorges

Take your pick from guided horse-trekking to grand banqueting at this traditional château; drive to explore WWI history and the lovely coast

A dramatic house with stylish interiors – designed to bring the outdoors in so you feel wrapped in nature. Great for families or friends

Within the city walls and right next to the Minster, this super-smart hotel gives you gorgeous bedrooms and delicious food

There's a lovely welcome at this manoir near the sea with its family-friendly room arrangements (cottages, kitchens) and its outdoor pool

An elegant, super central bolthole for two (or three): stroll everywhere, hop on a vaporetto, sit in piazzas drinking cappuccino, live like a local

A spoiling hotel for a properly grown up escape on the Chatsworth Estate. Bring your loved one and do as much or as little as you fancy

A homespun inn with irresistible prices in a tiny village deep in the country - the river Tweed is close, fishing can be arranged

Gorgeous old pile in five acres of blissful country between the Dales and the Lakes - it’s super relaxed and perfect for everybody

Chocolate-box cottages in deepest Normandy, owned by bright young things with a passion for organic cuisine and the good life

An elegant house with ancient roots and a shimmering pool – explore the Charente countryside, drive to lovely Angoulême

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

A rather grand, opulent house with warm owners, interesting furniture and art and some fine Renaissance architectural elements intact

Canoeing on the Tamar, valley walks galore, with the woodland garden a sea of daffodils in the spring. A magical self-catering hideaway