Close to Girona, with huge valley views! Cosy fires for cool days, shady corners for hot ones, lovely people, and the food a revelation

The views take your breath away, the breakfasts are beautiful, and you feel like you're staying in the home of dear friends

Delicious vegetarian cooking, a pool, lemon groves and hazy views of the Hyblaean mountains make a perfect escape near Cassibile

Beautiful cottages, donkey rides, a popular pool and restaurants to walk to. Dutch Peter knows all the walks in this heavenly valley!

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

A beautiful little collection of trulli near the Valle d’Itria – restored with flair and with gardens, woods and pool

A beautifully restored building in a vast, open space dotted with olive trees and fragrant citrus - unwind in the calming atmosphere

A smartly refurbished 500-year-old coaching inn with very comfortable bedrooms, good food and the Peak District at your feet

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

Families and walkers will be happy at this unfussy seaside retreat with beaches down the road and coastal paths right by your door

A majestic renovation of a Victorian 'model' farm with underfloor heating, open plan design, light bright lines and not a whiff of IKEA

A scented garden, delicious local delicacies and those coastal landscapes. This place is a sensory feast

Few inns can rival the scale or history of this one. Dogs doze by the inglenook, food is sourced from local suppliers, bedrooms are gorgeous

A thoughtful conversion of an old farm barn with beautifully-beamed interiors - a flawless, rural escape for romantics and dreamers

Beautiful light-filled eco-homes in Loch Lomond National Park – Scotland’s treasures are easily reached from here

A lovely restored house on a farm beside a cluster of ancient buildings surrounded by lush forest and grasslands – a deeply rural spot

A cosy bolt hole near medieval Cartmel with woods, meadows and wildlife – great for walkers in this quiet part of the South Lakes

A gorgeously tranquil place to escape to and fall in love with the Périgord's medieval villages, valleys, wines, markets and artisan farms