A welcoming retreat with lofty rooms, a sunny garden and the perfect plunge pool. Come for slow days and wine country adventures

Live like a local. Art lovers, book lovers and walkers will be happy here above an art gallery in the centre of town

A joyful, inviting house on a 15-acre smallholding in Devon. Super food, gracious hosts, delightful bedrooms - leave feeling nourished

Traditional family-run hotel with sitting rooms galore, award-winning food and Snowdon views. High teas and games room for children too

A renovated bright apartment with lots of space, a hop, skip and jump away from the shingle beach of seaside-jolly Deal

In an outstanding area for lovers of food and wine, here are 3 beautiful boltholes in the Alto Douro, the oldest wine region in the world

At the foot of the Cambrian Mountains, an ancient whitewashed cottage with cosy, light-flooded interiors – a perfect rural bolthole for two

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

Elegant, charming home in leafy, peaceful garden - pâtisserie courses and good dinners. Champagne vineyards and historic Provins are nearby

In off-the-beaten-track Tuscany, 2 peaceful apartments in a former haybarn, both carefully renovated with antique furniture

An elegant, super central bolthole for two (or three): stroll everywhere, hop on a vaporetto, sit in piazzas drinking cappuccino, live like a local

Family-friendly hotel on Ullswater with a pool and a variety of bedrooms, some super-cool - swim in the lake, walk in the hills, eat well

Atmospheric English pub with rooms by the green with its duck ponds in a pretty village, with walking and cycling routes to join

An eye-catching ancient inn with a colourful flower garden in summer, delicious local food and very presentable bedrooms

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

A beguiling retreat for a couple or a family of four – feel cosy and secluded in a thatched cottage close to the coast

Gite retreats in château grounds - welcoming and wonderful for young families. Build castles in the sandpit, make friends around the pool

This fine old Dordogne house is run by well-travelled owners, has superb views and is a luscious mix of old charm and contemporary design