An irresistible eco restaurant-hotel of character and charm, run by two friendly families and set in gorgeous grounds. Foodie heaven

A lovely big house with huge riverside gardens and an easy-going charm – a 15-minute walk from bookish Hay-on-Wye

Get away from it all in 'old' France, where melons taste like melons & hikes start from the door. This rural bolthole is a serious treat

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

A small, quirky country house hotel with lovely staff, pretty rooms and heavenly food served in a pillared dining room

Spend restful days in a verdant garden, slip into the cooling pool, sip wine on your private balcony, stroll into arty Benissa

Swim with frogs in the freshwater pool, breakfast in the sunshine, play boules by moonlight. Châteaux don't get much more rural

Come to slow down and be well fed at this beautiful 14th-century manor with 60 acres of grounds and views across the Cotswolds

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

5 minutes from the Vatican in a tall palazzo above the British school. Owners share local tips, serve bakery-fresh breakfasts on the terrace

A beautiful cream stone building in the grounds of a grand château, with a large and view-filled outdoor terrace for peaceful dawdling

Come to this cosy barn down a winding lane for a back-to-nature escape: hike the Black Mountains, splash in the stream, gaze at the views

Up in the Cévennes, this big, beautiful family house has superb views, a fine kitchen, lots of space and masses to do and see

On the outskirts of Marazion, this timber clad house perched above the sea is a super pad for romantic couples

A lovely little bolthole to return to after days out exploring pretty Cotswold villages and walking in an AONB straight from the door

Cosy and comfortable eco cottages near to sleepy Sidmouth, where grown-ups can relax and children can play safely in the gardens

Restored stone barn on a farm in the Lake District National Park, with views of fields and woods and an excellent pub nearby

A charming house in a lush green setting, secluded and quiet and with stunning views of the Tramuntana mountains and Fornalutx village