Peaceful B&B above Sorrento with a splendid garden and incredible views from the terrace. Walk to restaurants, explore the Amalfi Coast

Built in the 1800s, a charming stone house on the Penicuik Estate with views over woodland and hills and calming, beautiful interiors

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

A cracking spot for this thatched and beamed 17th-century village inn with lovely gardens, just a half-mile stroll from Lulworth Cove

Come for very comfortable B&B suites with garden views in a converted 1880s barn with its own charming sitting and dining rooms

A grand old Georgian building with a big old welcoming atmosphere, roaring fires, delicious food, ales and wine, warm and calming bedrooms

Two comfortably converted farm buildings, with a shared pool on a gentle south-east sloping vineyard with wonderful views

A lovely house set in 20 hectares with a park, two ponds, paths winding through and a pretty river. Delicious locally-sourced meals too

Delightful little antique-filled cottage with large walled garden and an allotment near Versailles. Gardeners will be happy

A homespun inn with irresistible prices in a tiny village deep in the country - the river Tweed is close, fishing can be arranged

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

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

Refined B&B in a pretty forest setting just north of the French Basque country, with a lovely garden, a swimming pool and delicious food

An old sporting lodge in Argyll renovated with sensitivity – fish in the river, gaze at the night skies, climb Ben Udlaidh

Three luxurious apartments sleeping up to 10 people altogether, set within an elegant Georgian manor house in the Wye Valley AONB

Come for the utter silence and the rare beauty of this far north-westerly landscape, teeming with wildlife. An antidote to city life

Stay in a lovely 18th-century townhouse in one of the prettiest villages on the Loire surrounded by unspoilt countryside

Immerse yourself, luxuriously, in beautiful rural Picardy – mirabelle jam, peaceful parkland, walking in the hills – near historic Amiens