Your own cottage sitting room downstairs and a swish bedroom up – breakfast in the courtyard before venturing forth to discover Canterbury

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

Up a narrow lane this dreamy pub with rooms has views to the South Downs. Stay for supper, let the kids run free in the garden playground

Smart, spacious house for 12 with great views over the family vineyard - arrange a tasting, walk the Cotswold Way, cycle the canal towpath

A warm, inviting boutique hotel in Shrewsbury’s historic centre; potter about the medieval streets, relax in a sun-catching courtyard

A grand, 16th-century Breton château complete with dovecote, turret and chapel surrounded by 50 acres of parkland, woods and small lake

Simple but stylishly furnished village house, terrific hill-top views, low-impact design, organic cooking and a hot tub; utterly peaceful

An 1820s farmhouse at the end of a quiet road in the North York Moors National Park, overlooking a forest and surrounded by fields

A perfectly renovated farmhouse in the grounds of a delightful château deep in the Normandy countryside, with a lovely walled garden

Portraits, paintings and a historic look-out tower, pool, gardens and delicious breakfasts... San Fabiano captures everyone’s heart

Simple, stylish interiors at this restored cottage on a rural estate overlooking the river Tay, with farmland, forest and trails to discover

A magnificent medieval tower in the grounds of an 18th-century château sitting in a dreamy valley. Come for superb gardens and architecture

A renovated barn, part stone, part wood, resembling the tobacco barns of the area with beautiful grounds surrounded by farmland

A light-filled, modern house with wonderful sea views through vast picture windows stretching all the way to St Kilda on clear days

1820s cottage with long views, a lovely garden and generous extras. Alnwick is close and miles of white sandy beaches with dunes

Delightful almshouse, steeped in history, in a peaceful churchyard setting with far-reaching countryside views

One of four wooden-clad off-grid cottages, sleek and calm indoors, high up in the Cheviot Hills and with stunning views over the valley

Beautifully connected, engagingly old-fashioned London pad, with a garden. Head out for Vauxhall Park, the Tate, Westminster...