Magical sunshine-filled grounds with olive trees, palms, cacti and carob surround the charmingly-coloured stone of these 1750 farm buildings

Glorious Elizabethan manor house lovingly furnished with exceptional art and antiques by its welcoming owners

A magnificent medieval tower in the grounds of an 18th-century château sitting in a dreamy valley. Come for superb gardens and architecture

A stylish, canal-side inn – you get Sunday lunch, tow paths that lead into Edinburgh, then a pretty garden and cute rooms

Once a pub, now a friendly home, with all you need for a market town break. Park the car (or leave at home) – everything is on the doorstep

Classic-modern luxury, a charming young hostess and a peaceful setting – perfect for breakfast-lovers, wine buffs and all the family

Elegant farmhouse B&B. Drawing room with a log fire, generous breakfasts with home produce, cookery courses and friendly welcoming hosts

Stay a while... lulled by lapping sea and fragrant hanging gardens - cool, light, balconied, classic, intimate, unpretentious

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

A humdinger of a pub, hidden in a sleepy village in the Surrey Hills, oozing character and charm and with delicious food and comfy bedrooms

An oh-so-special B&B in Palermo's ancient heart. This city at the edge of Europe, with its Arab-Norman-Byzantine heritage, is fascinating

A thatched farmhouse only just over the channel near Rouen that’s well hidden in lush gardens, but worth finding for the gourmet food alone

A pretty little cottage in a holiday hamlet surrounded by fields, just a stone's throw from the coast and Binic for happy escapes

Head inland for grand walking or to the glorious coast from this very pretty cottage with a private garden, suitable and safe for dogs

Gather the clans and just come. It's lovely here among acres of wildlife-filled grounds – a Sawday's Community Champion

A very attractive stone building on a smallholding with all mod cons, a bedroom for stargazing, Guest Farm Shop and pretty communal gardens

A converted stable on a peaceful farm surrounded by acres of countryside - a Sawday's Community Champion

Beautiful Noto is 4 miles from the Ionian Sea, and this creative renovation, with lush garden, stands above the throng. Heaven in Sicily