Heaps to do on-site: organic farm shop & café, cookery & cheese-making courses, farm tours. A brilliant base for exploring the Cotswolds too

Come for a delightfully unfussy stay at this graceful townhouse filled with beautiful objects and good vibes thanks to the lovely owners

Laze under the loggia, drink in superb, sweeping Umbrian views and wine from the vines beyond the pool; sleep peacefully in grand style

An incredible living museum, dedicated to the history of Sicily and the arts. Stay in the main house or in a cottage in the fecund garden

Former blacksmith’s workshop in a chocolate-box corner of the New Forest, where clematis climbs the trellis and all you hear are the birds

An 18th-century stone cottage sitting in the glorious Yorkshire Dales. Nature-lovers and walkers will be well pleased and so will their dog

A relaxed hilltop escape with good food, a pretty garden and fine views of the Dales and the river Wharfe – bring your dog too

Your own cottage on a wine estate in a very beautiful part of the South Downs, famed for world-class sparkling wines

This is Somerset at its most quintessential: a thatched roofed, honey-coloured Hamstone cottage with a pretty courtyard garden; sleeps four

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

Fabulous bakes and hot waffles at breakfast, green fields all around and Normandy steeped in history. Great for foodies and historians

Nature lovers will be tempted to this gem of a village cottage in the Duddon Valley – a truly peaceful slice of the Lakes

Welcome to the delights of a 15th-century Breton manor house, a meandering river inhabited by otters, and hosts who adore what they do

A lovely spot in an AONB for this bright and airy converted barn, one of four round a gravelled courtyard on a 600-acre estate

Fringing Tuscany countryside and fun Montone, an authentic Umbrian mansion with Slow Food, lavender fields, apartments and pool. Pure Italy

Relaxed, bohemian vibe out in the wilds yet close to civilization. An organic garden and woodland yurt add to the convivial, communal idyll

Marvellously quirky bolthole right on Lyme Regis seafront with stunning views; perfect for beach combers and boutique browsers

A light, spacious villa in the colonial style designed for easy indoor/outdoor living, with garden, pool and the beach just a short stroll