A stylish, canal-side inn – you get Sunday lunch, tow paths that lead into Edinburgh, then a pretty garden and cute rooms

Beauty, charm and tranquillity an hour from Florence, on a bio-sensitive farm known for Chianina cattle and white truffles

Gorgeous rooms and splendid breakfasts – for sybarites, history-lovers, cyclists and canoeists - bang in the middle of ancient Long Melford

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

Perfect for lovers of the quintessentially English cottage - carefully renovated and classily stylish - a ramble to nearest pub

An historic, moated manor house dating from the 16th-century, fully restored and with all mod cons, including an indoor heated pool

Picture-perfect Andalusian houses with private, colourful gardens, stunning mountain views and sparkling pool; utterly relaxing

Bright, cosy cottage in a quiet Devon village, four miles from Totnes, with two good pubs nearby and an en suite ground-floor bedroom

A sweet little gîte for two in the centre of a dreamy medieval village. Happily private but with loads to explore from your door

Great for comfort, beauty, character and home baking. Borrow vintage bikes to explore Cambridge: Christine knows it inside out

A grand place for up to 12 adventurous souls and the young at heart: swim, bob in a boat, hike and cycle or simply revel in the greenery and peace

An 18th-century cottage for four on a working sheep farm: walk the Pentland Hills, get the bus to Edinburgh for culture

An airy Estate Manager's House set in pretty grounds with a pool, orchard, barbecue and private terrace for long lazy days in the sun

A wonderfully simple and modern studio with stunning sea views in an almost Jurassic landscape, dotted with the owner's sculptures

Crackling fires in winter, croquet in the summer. Life ticks by peacefully - rooms are engagingly old-fashioned, the garden is much-loved

A magical Scottish Baronial-style house with stunning valley views; stroll to good restaurants, explore the spectacular Borders

A fin-de-siècle Franco-Scottish décor for this hospitable, entertaining B&B, in the heart of Edinburgh’s cultural quarter

A sustainably run 1902 farmhouse and its converted cattle shed in countryside close to a wonderfully wild stretch of the North Devon coast