A timbered, fire-warmed village farmhouse, home-grown dinners, delightfully French hosts. Deliciously authentic, generous and calm

Two rural retreats up a shared drive for gatherings of friends and family who enjoy the great outdoors and good food from the Meikleour Inn

Spread out in much style with friends or family in a beautifully renovated Victorian farmhouse at the foot of the Howgill fells

A hideaway for two on an old farm, gifted to The National Trust for Jersey, with a pretty walled garden and circled by verdant countryside

A beautifully restored building in a vast, open space dotted with olive trees and fragrant citrus - unwind in the calming atmosphere

Surrounded by delightful gardens, these gîtes are serene retreats from which you can discover the Dordogne, or gently unwind

A lovely wisteria-clad inn in a traditional Cotswold village with grand walks, a pretty garden, tasty food and thoughtful bedrooms

Explore country markets, churches and châteaux - return to a gite in private parkland with an artist's studio on site, and a blissful pool

A relaxed and stylish hotel on the Norfolk coast with an impressive restaurant, sumptuous bedrooms and super staff

Come for a village feel, rural peace and boundless Portuguese countryside at this charming whitewashed home with a super terrace with views

An authentic, charming and spacious home with garden, pool and lake, deep in the Dordogne valley and decorated with uncluttered elegance

Come to the dramatic Côtes-d'Armor and three charming gîtes perched on the cliffs, just a short stroll down to the beach

Come to walk, cycle, fish and hunker down in style in front of the wood-burner - sleep in deep comfort in a lovingly converted barn

A truly authentic place to stay on a Sicilian working farm with roaming hens, wheat fields, wild flowers and a distant view of the sea

A sculptor's studio, flooded with light, converted into a restful holiday home surrounded by glorious countryside, near Totnes

An old sporting lodge in Argyll renovated with sensitivity – fish in the river, gaze at the night skies, climb Ben Udlaidh

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

A peaceful grown-up place circled by meadows and woodland with helpful owners next door – a superb spot to explore the south-west