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

A very pretty old coach house in a south London garden – perfect for a couple or a family. Friendly owners live across the courtyard

Come for good architecture, thoughtful design and much space for relaxing: swimming, massages, hammam and sauna, beautiful bedrooms

Come to stay in a lovely old house surrounded by an important garden created by three generations of brilliant women gardeners

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

Ascot is a trot down the road and there's a really cosy, cottagey feel to this quaint 18th-century inn with great food and comfy bedrooms

A grand spot with superb Peak District views for this secluded, immaculate conversion of a handsome stable block - spacious and light

Serious art, lovely lighting, great sound system and a fat wood-burner belting out the heat at this super place for families or friends

Up and away to a truly wild Welsh experience from this ancient stone house sitting on a ridge, with stunning valley and mountain views

Traditional and modern mix beautifully and bedrooms are quietly elegant. Relax and drink in the views over orchards and the Sierra Nevada

In the heart of the East Sussex countryside, a fun community inn, with rustic-historic bedrooms, scrumptious food, and a great welcome for dogs

One of the loveliest houses in a very lovely village. Pretty rooms have parquet floors and white walls, the food is a delight

Come down to the Meon Valley and be (very gently) nudged towards a better way of living - a Sawday's Community Champion

Bags of rustic charm in this elegantly restored retreat, perfectly placed to explore Sicily’s rich history and beautiful beaches

A tempting trio of retreats with unlimited access to exceptional gardens, and a welcome homemade cream tea. Come as a pair, or a small group

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

Up in the hills, with Hay Bluff towering beside, this old stone house is sheltered in the valley with the brook rushing past to a waterfall