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

A bright and spacious cottage set against a backdrop of woodland for days spent happily reading by the wood-burner or lunch on the sun deck

Adorable cottage with a Highland lodge feel – walk straight into the hills, swim in the Spey, relax in the whisky room and sitooterie

Stay in the grounds of a 19th-century château turned family home, where 500-year-old oak trees shade a glorious garden

A hop to Montpellier, but deep in the countryside: a romantic pad, with Moroccan rugs, ochre-limed walls and bikes to ride into the country

A dog-friendly hotel with traditional bedrooms, excellent breakfasts & a cool bar set on a peaceful side street, minutes from the centre

Cottages, rooms and apartments on an historic 18th-century family estate with gorgeous gardens, a shared pool and a view-filled terrace

Escape to a rural idyll on a working olive and citrus farm in the toe of Italy. Attentive hosts, good for kids and great food!

Escape to your own barn. Brimming with beams and natural colours - surrounded by peaceful lavender-filled gardens and corn fields

Full of country-hideaway chic, this special holiday home is in one of the loveliest parts of the Var, surrounded by 10 private acres

Perched on a hillside between mountains and sea is this charming house in a modern Spanish style, engulfed by a beautiful garden with views

On a farmstead near Ronda where views stretch for miles are 2 houses, one old, one new, brilliant for families, sharing a fabulous pool

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

Hike down secret paths and along the Suffolk coast before a superb lunch or supper at this friendly inn; sweet bedrooms too

The smallest of three secluded cottages that share a gravel courtyard and a beautiful garden with cathedral views

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

A large tranquil apartment with garden and pool surrounded by Tuscan countryside, just over half an hour's drive from Siena

Immerse yourselves in the heather-clad peaks, moorland, glens and diverse wildlife of the magnificent Pentland Hills Regional Park