A big, homely farmhouse on the Umbria/Tuscany border for family holidays filled with sunshine, outdoor frolics and good food

Stay in a celebrated French author’s holiday home, beautifully restored and tucked among pines next to one of Brittany's loveliest bays

A lovely modern Provençal house, light and welcoming, in a valley of vineyards and forest, tucked peacefully away from the coast

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

Restored 18th-century farm building surrounded by countryside, with a good pub a short walk away and Lake Windermere a ten-minute drive

A confident style for this mid-19th-century house, with a Mediterranean garden, elegant terrace and pool, a stroll from the historic centre

Immerse yourself in 50 acres of peaceful countryside and the fine pool. Generous owners are on hand, Les Eyzies is just a few minutes' drive

5 minutes from the Vatican in a tall palazzo above the British school. Owners share local tips, serve bakery-fresh breakfasts on the terrace

Wonderful views over medieval Gubbio from this rural stone farmhouse with pool, cottages and apartments sitting in lush gardens

Swim with frogs in the freshwater pool, breakfast in the sunshine, play boules by moonlight. Châteaux don't get much more rural

Laid-back hosts, delicious breakfasts and a staggering sense of history in peaceful Welsh countryside - magical place for a special occasion

A very swish 1610 house, thoroughly refurbished, in the heart of old Chichester with oodles of space and a surprisingly large garden

Dine on wholesome farmhouse food, explore the lovely garden or catch up on your sleep in generous king-size beds. Pretty Cadaqués is close

In a profoundly peaceful spot between arty St Ives and stunning Marazion, a hideaway for two surrounded by gardens and parkland

A Georgian townhouse full of character for an epic family and friend get-together. The best of Hay is a stroll away

An 18th-century limestone barn, now a quiet hideaway for a group of friends or family in a very rural spot surrounded by fields and woods

A lovely listed cottage, just stumbling distance from a good pub in a quiet village surrounded by spectacular walking and cycling country

Starry skies, wild beauty and total peace are yours in these sustainable, solar-powered eco-lodges