Kate makes you feel at home the moment you enter her great big beloved house - full of books, guitars and a piano, antiques and huge spaces

Immaculate Cotswold beauty with great food, welcoming staff, handsome rooms and a sun-trap terrace, plus countryside walks from the door

Peaceful Basque farmhouse turned smart country B&B, only 20 minutes from restaurants and museums in Bilbao and unspoiled sandy beaches

A friendly family-run inn, ideal for foodies and dog-walkers who love their comforts. Peaceful, remote, but with Sherborne a short drive

Countryside and seaside all in one go – what could be more inspiring? Lovely Louisa lives down the road, on hand if you need her

Lodge and gardens – superbly designed, immaculate, fresh, eco friendly – rest in unspoilt Picardy. Anglo-French hosts take turns to cook

Pluck grapes, splash in the child-shallow pool and explore the ‘Yorkshire of Italy’ with rolling green hills and conical trulli

A marvellous spot overlooking Rutland Water for this 1760 former hunting lodge with good seasonal British food and very comfortable bedrooms

A vine-clad stone house hideaway for lovers, walkers, artists and hermits with a sweet veranda overlooking woodland down to the river

Romantics will love this small converted hut-on-a-hillside surrounded by pines and olives with stunning views over the old town and the sea

A lovely old traditional pub with a merry fire, locals and dogs, a bright conservatory, large garden and excellent food, especially fish

Once a pub, now a friendly home, with all you need for a market town break. Park the car (or leave at home) – everything is on the doorstep

Burrowed into the olive groves of the lush Valle d’Itria, a restored masseria with five trulli, an indoor and outdoor pool, hot tub and lovely views

Immerse yourself, luxuriously, in beautiful rural Picardy – mirabelle jam, peaceful parkland, walking in the hills – near historic Amiens

Cosy bolthole for two in a charming market town on the edge of Dartmoor – stroll to restaurants and shops or explore the moors

A lucky break to stay here: part of a 1669 grade-II* listed Almshouse with modern interiors; leafy and quiet yet a short hop from the town

Perthshire country house with contemporary touches. Deer, red squirrels, tawny owls... and the river Tay glints way below through the trees

A magnificent Arts and Crafts house set in thirty acres by the river Frome. The North Wing and the South Wing may also be booked separately