Independence at one end of the house with your own sitting room opening onto a courtyard garden. Good pub for food a few minutes' walk away

Sitting at the end of the estate's private driveway, this sandstone building has grand Italianate columns and comfortable interiors

Stay just minutes from the sea in colourful Donaghadee for wild swims, island visits, bird watching and coastal walks

A lovely old stone house with a covered veranda and sparkling pool in a small hilltop hamlet overlooking a lush forested valley

Books, meadow flowers, a rocking chair by a cosy fire at this treasure-trove cottage of beautiful things - down tiny lanes in west Cork

A lovely big house with huge riverside gardens and an easy-going charm – a 15-minute walk from bookish Hay-on-Wye

Charming, vivacious hosts make you feel welcome at this splendid 16th-century home. Cooking classes, wine pairing and excellent regional food

A proper old-fashioned inn dating from the 1600s with beamed ceilings, low doorways and winding staircases up to comfortable bedrooms

A scented garden, delicious local delicacies and those coastal landscapes. This place is a sensory feast

A beautifully designed B&B for foodies, cyclists and walkers in a village surrounded by trees just 15 minutes from the coast

Elegantly restored mariner’s cottage with tasteful interiors and sweeping, uninterrupted views over the ever-changing estuary

You're on an ancient packhorse trail just a stone's throw from the coast. There's a timeless feel to this place and the peace is deep

A small, quirky country house hotel with lovely staff, pretty rooms and heavenly food served in a pillared dining room

A deliciously rural stone house with charmingly simple rustic-chic interiors and saline pool - an hour from Perugia

What a surprise! Tucked into a row of tightly woven old cottages is this contemporary open-plan hideaway with huge windows and much flair

A lovely gîte, once a hunting lodge, with two private terraces overlooking the manicured gardens of an 1830s manor house

Lively renovation for this 18th-century cottage built of local stone and with a large garden in Modbury. Totnes and sandy beaches are close

A beautifully converted dairy with a magical garden in a quiet village surrounded by lovely countryside