Ascot is a trot down the road and there's a really cosy, cottagey feel to this quaint 18th-century inn with great food and comfy bedrooms

Gaze over sublime vistas, refresh in the plunge pool, cook up a barbecue treat. A Provençal studio, simply furnished and deeply relaxing

Your own cottage sitting room downstairs and a swish bedroom up – breakfast in the courtyard before venturing forth to discover Canterbury

Come for the great outdoors and wrap-around views of Muncaster Fell and Scafell Pike from this warm, bright and spacious Passivhaus

A traditional cottage in Polruan on the Fowey estuary with harbour and cove views and a tea shop and two pubs in the village

Comfortable bolthole for 2–6 in the heart of the city. Shops and restaurants on the doorstep, a short drive from the coast and South Downs

Comfortable home with wood fires, gracious bedrooms and convivial living rooms. The drive is full of blossom and daffodils in spring

Near lively Lyon, this handsome family house is perfect for a Zen-like escape with delicious vegetarian meals and well-travelled hosts

Beautifully refurbished inn with good food, calming rooms and the South Downs all around. Chichester, Petworth and Goodwood are close

In wine country, a beautifully revived 16th-century manor and hospitable B&B. Visit Angers’ cathedral, cruise along the Loire to Saumur

Peaceful converted barn on a remote working farm – pet the donkeys, wild swim and row on the lake, warm up around the wood-burner

An eco renovation of an 1800s gamekeepers cottage, now a charming place for couples or families to immerse themselves in nature

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

Beautifully connected, engagingly old-fashioned London pad, with a garden. Head out for Vauxhall Park, the Tate, Westminster...

A stunning veranda wraps itself around the house: doze off in a wicker armchair or sip a drink at dusk as the sun melts into the valley

Vibrant, artistic barn conversion in the heart of York, a five-minute walk from the Minster. Convivial place with helpful, friendly hosts

A really well thought-out escape for a small family with children. A big garden, pool, petanque court and play barn for indoor fun

A beautifully-restored old cow shed, light and airy, floating over a wildflower meadow in spring and summer. 20 mins from the Jurassic Coast