Birders will love escaping up here, golfers too - visit Hatfield House, Knebworth, Cambridge - come back to a good local pub and a comfy bed

A modern, beautifully refurbished inn set in smart gardens, overlooking the village pond and surrounded by Hampshire hills for grand walks

A nicely priced inn on Shaftesbury's high street with a warm contemporary style and some excellent food – fine local walking waits

Everything you need is here: a wood-burner for winter, a pool and spacious terraces for summer, and peace and beauty all year round

Stunning, spacious 3-storey converted mill with stylish bedrooms. Cook just-caught brown trout from the river, eat at a hand built oak table

A hop from the coast and charming Alnwick, a gorgeous and supremely comfortable country escape for friends and families. Dogs welcome too

Tradition and comfort on the border with Wales, a welcoming country-house hotel with warm rooms, pretty gardens and delicious food

An 1820s farmhouse at the end of a quiet road in the North York Moors National Park, overlooking a forest and surrounded by fields

Just below the Tuscan town of Massa Marittima, an agriturismo loved by sporty types and families, with wonderful food on site

Light-filled house full of modern art and antique finds with stunning gardens and a pool. The best of Provence is on your doorstep

It's not often you get an entire hamlet to yourselves but here it is – 10 traditional stone houses with big communal spaces in rural bliss

A gorgeous old gardener's house in grand Belle Epoque style, filled with every comfort and sitting in the grounds of a magnificent château

A glorious retreat for nature lovers with a natural swimming pool, bikes to borrow and the timeless soundtrack of the water surrounding you

All the bleached beauty of the beach inside this comfortable cottage; a dining terrace with uplifting sea views and arching views of Kerry

Serious art, lovely lighting, great sound system and a fat wood-burner belting out the heat at this super place for families or friends

Six cosy cottages for couples (babies and dogs welcome) on this gorgeous eco farm with enclosed gardens, a summer pool and treatments

An eco B&B (minus hair shirt) in the stunning Meon Valley surrounded by woodland and wildlife - a Sawday's Community Champion