A stone built 18th-century tower in a pretty valley dotted with fruit trees for quiet and relaxed days recuperating from life in the city

Two peaceful spaces in a beautiful garden with a morning concert from the birds and a terrace for magical outdoor meals

An entire literary estate on the Brittany coast, with a trio of restored houses, fabulous gardens and a private path to the beach

Traditional and modern, verging on the opulent. Find a stone-flagged tap room for walkers, top modern food and Chatsworth-perfect bedrooms

Built in the 1800s, a charming stone house on the Penicuik Estate with views over woodland and hills and calming, beautiful interiors

Rolling lawns, Georgian glamour and countryside views – gather the gang for slow days, wild walks and starry Northumberland skies

By a bubbling brook in the Mendips, close to Bath and Bristol, a wonderfully revived and welcoming inn with smart rooms and scrumptious food

An impressive, south-facing bastide on three floors with a sunny pool, lovely garden and grounds that stretch to vineyards and garrigue

Just half an hour from Siena, a peaceful apartment with shared garden and pool surrounded by Tuscan countryside, a short walk to Monticiano

An impressive manor house set in gentle rolling countryside ten miles from Oxford with a delightful garden, warm hosts and organic breakfast

Rooms in the house overlook the vineyard, the lodges are surrounded by it - check out the vines, then drink their wine with a good dinner

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

Gather the clans and just come. It's lovely here among acres of wildlife-filled grounds – a Sawday's Community Champion

Good restaurants, beach walks, a grand welcome for dogs: that’s Whitstable. Bring friends and stay in this smart house close to it all

Perfect for lovers of the quintessentially English cottage - carefully renovated and classily stylish - a ramble to nearest pub

Very private and comfortable rooms with their own entrances at this generous B&B with glorious gardens and views to the Black Mountains

Old wooden sleigh beds, check-clothed tables, log fires, a courtyard of centuries-old trees, a claw foot bath. Stacks of character

You're only a whisper away from history in this family-run château, where rose gardens, sumptuous bedrooms and generous breakfasts wait