Two elegant village houses for big happy gatherings of friends and family with a yoga studio, spacious courtyard and glistening pool

A rustic-chic bolthole with bird's eye views to gaze at from your bedroom and the beautiful garden, tucked in a quaint hamlet in Maremma

Log fires smoulder, rooms are comfortable, the food is delicious and there's bags of character at this old village pub – once a cider house

A bright and beautiful six-bedroom house with lovely mature gardens in the glorious Lake District: bring your entire tribe plus the dog

A niftily restored, open-plan, beamed hayloft, just the ticket for romantics, with gorgeous views of fields and open countryside

A light, airy and comfortable barn conversion on a farm with stunning views over the Dorset/Devon border just five miles to the sea

Lovely slice of the Mediterranean with splendid rooms in deepest Cheshire. Sip an aperitif on the sunny terrace

Breakfast on homemade ricotta, bask on a cool white lounger, swim in the cove below. We love this young, friendly, rustic B&B

A gorgeous big old house on a farm in a very quiet part of Wiltshire - the undiscovered North Wessex Downs, filled with wildlife and an AONB

A very pretty Victorian gothic house of limestone and brick, sitting peacefully on the edge of the village, eight miles from foodie Ludlow

Saint Emilion and Castillon both a hop away from a warm, wonderful barn with owners to match. Stylish, cosy and deep in organic vines

Choose the atmospheric early Georgian house or the garden bedrooms, all have views, Paul's welcome is genuine and his dinners delicious

A charming B&B in south Sardinia, near Cagliari: circled by palms and cypresses, overlooking sweet-smelling lemon & orange groves. Bliss

Gorgeous scenic views from this relaxed and friendly B&B tucked in a tiny hamlet in the Dordogne near Bergerac

Quaint barns dotted among truffle oaks and rosemary, each one constructed the old-fashioned way and close to the Dordogne and Vézère

A cosy and pretty old cottage for rest or romance, with garden and pool in a small hamlet surrounded by walnut orchards and mixed woodland

Gather your loved ones and come for colourful, exuberant interiors, an absolutely gorgeous covered veranda and a pool with moveable floor

Come for summer breakfasts of pastries fresh from the local bakery, afternoons reading by the pool and long, lazy lunches