Wild and peaceful small hotel bordering National Park of Guadarrama. Listen to birdsong, hike in the sierra, spend the day in Segovia

Heaps to do on-site: organic farm shop & café, cookery & cheese-making courses, farm tours. A brilliant base for exploring the Cotswolds too

Welcome to a beautiful space for six in Sicily’s chocolate capital - baroque jewel Modica. Laze in the garden, dip into the pool

Friendly touches everywhere, terrific food and drink, smart bedrooms above the sparkling bar – dogs and children welcome

4 comfy, stylish rooms and a wonderful host who spoils you rotten: hearty breakfasts, walking maps and Peak District views

Leave crowds behind for this charming stone farmhouse in the olive groves of rural Umbria – bring friends and have it all to yourselves

Sweep along the gravel drive through lawns and specimen trees to this elegant manor house with 17th-century roots

Throw open French windows to this sleek self-catering space, with off-street parking. Walk to the beach & the pub, visit historic Chichester

Shady spots in the garden, a pool overlooked by tall palms, a bar nook stocked with drinks and a new spa in the Serra do Açor

Charming cottage in a vast garden with a swimming pool and boule; walk to the nearest village, drive to Côte d'Azur in less than an hour

Come to be cossetted in this 300-year-old Burgundy farmhouse with rose garden, sheltered pool and convivial Dutch owners

A row of old brick stables now craftily converted into a light-filled and very peaceful place to stay with a garden room and gorgeous views

An exquisite Provençal home for a large party, hidden behind grand gates in a small village surrounded by the pine-scented Alpilles

A botanical beauty deep in the Loire Valley, this elegant house has history and heart in abundance

On a farmstead near Ronda where views stretch for miles are 2 houses, one old, one new, brilliant for families, sharing a fabulous pool

Traditional accommodation and organic food; handy for Bari but set peacefully in the countryside near Toritto, famed for its almonds

Gem-like in a deep park among meadows, a family-friendly château with 2 stylish cottages. Join the lovely owners for dinner, dip in the pool

A serene riverside retreat on the Lot, with manicured gardens and a shared pool, tennis court and children's playground for socialising