An island of oyster farms, salt pans and white beaches, woolly donkeys, countless push-bikes and the odd celeb – we love the Ile de Ré!

A deceptively roomy 300-year-old stone cottage, with front-facing windows overlooking the harbour - just a short walk up to town

Great taste – in decor and food – and a delicious heated pool. Views swoop over field and valley; trails, villages, wineries tempt

Glass-and-timber doors bathe you with light, gaze at big skies and the river Dart lapping. Sublime year round, it's one of our favourites

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

Loved by estate-workers, visitors, well-heeled locals, and walkers, this spruced-up pub is a friendly launchpad for Chatsworth

Like staying in a family home, only with Henri III furniture and rolling green views. Energetic hosts cook, farm, hunt, chat over champagne

Chichester, blessed with a stunning natural setting, is great for a city break - and this Georgian coach house the perfect bolthole for 2

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

An inspirational setting and an enthusiastic welcome from your hosts and their young family - lose your heart to its baroque beauty

A cosy bolt hole near medieval Cartmel with woods, meadows and wildlife – great for walkers in this quiet part of the South Lakes

A charming transformation of a once boarded-up pub in a pretty village setting, beside the river Wye in the heart of the Peak District

Kids range free, adults recharge in these two gites on a 17th-century estate with sunny gardens and a pool. Hike, bike, swim, relax...

Burrowed into the olive groves of the lush Valle d’Itria, a restored masseria with five trulli, an indoor and outdoor pool, hot tub and lovely views

Two peaceful olive grove farmhouses, a shared pool with incredible views, hours of hiking along beautiful trails, Pisa and Lucca nearby

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

Ease into a slower way of life from this beautiful Tuscan farmhouse surrounded by vineyards in the valley below medieval Montepulciano

Lodge and gardens – superbly designed, immaculate, fresh, eco friendly – rest in unspoilt Picardy. Anglo-French hosts take turns to cook