11 rooms yet huge personality: travel mementoes, bright colours, local breakfasts... in a fun market town under the Cotswold escarpment

A relaxed hilltop escape with good food, a pretty garden and fine views of the Dales and the river Wharfe – bring your dog too

Your host runs home and B&B with effortless efficiency and you'll find shiny, spotless rooms to retreat to after a day's exploring

It's quiet among the lavender plants... bees humming, sun shining. Splash in the shared pool, visit lovely villages, taste local wines

Cross an ancient stone bridge to a 1790s estate cottage, completely on its own down a little-used green lane and with the river rushing by

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

A fascinating place steeped in history and abuzz with prize-winning winery activity. Plus rustic cottages, golf, a restaurant and 2 pools

A sculptor's studio, flooded with light, converted into a restful holiday home surrounded by glorious countryside, near Totnes

A peaceful grown-up place circled by meadows and woodland with helpful owners next door – a superb spot to explore the south-west

Deep in the Lake District, a well-loved family home with open fires and heavenly views, a private woodland and a short walk to a good pub

An elegant townhouse, built in 1830 and once the sous-préfecture for Rochefort, with spacious, light-filled rooms and a garden with pool

A clutch of airy properties, most with their own jasmine-scented terraces arranged around a funky pool

Sleek, contemporary style with a stunning view. Soak up the sunrise, scuba dive off the Medes islands or simply stroll to the local bar.

Generous simplicity and organic farm cooking in this rustic Tuscan farm with library, yoga, family apartments and natural lily-dotted pond

A peaceful, very stylish bolthole for 2 on the doorstep of glorious Holyrood Park, with Edinburgh’s sights a stroll away

A big, comfortable house with heated outdoor pool in 17 acres of gardens. Mountains, river swimming, hiking nearby; coast within the hour

A monastic grange full of grandeur with luxurious interiors to keep you comfortable. Enjoy a pool, gardens and Margate on the doorstep

A lovely gîte, once a hunting lodge, with two private terraces overlooking the manicured gardens of an 1830s manor house