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

A grand yet very homely place with tasty home cooking and 200 acres to explore. Play golf, sail, cycle – wonderfully informal

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

Treat yourselves to a seamless stay in this 255-year-old manor house with dreamy gardens, sumptuous bedrooms, sparkling pool and spa

Simple country cottage living on a working organic farm. Bring your hiking boots or bikes, stride out from the door

Your hosts couldn’t be nicer and look after you beautifully – this is a lovely, homely place with a rambling garden

Come to be doused in nature, tradition and rare Vino Santo at this soulful retreat, girded by orchards between the Dolomites and Lake Garda

A very pretty Victorian gothic house of limestone and brick, sitting peacefully on the edge of the village, eight miles from foodie Ludlow

This fine old inn stands in blissful peace, a field or two back from the coastal path, with cosy rooms, delicious food and a rustic style

Two peaceful olive grove farmhouses, a shared pool with incredible views, hours of hiking along beautiful trails, Pisa and Lucca nearby

A relaxed country feel in this fine family villa. It has space and comfort for six with gardens, private pool, and tennis court

Canoeing on the Tamar, valley walks galore, with the woodland garden a sea of daffodils in the spring. A magical self-catering hideaway

What a setting! Gentle terraces, gardens, meadows and jaw-dropping views of Mont Blanc - just metres from Courmayeur

A stately retreat, an oasis of calm and beauty. Picnic on the lawns, enjoy a glass of home-produced prosecco beneath a centuries-old tree

A gem of a house in a lovely unspoilt village with an intelligent, interesting owner who gives you delicious food and local wines

A very swish 1610 house, thoroughly refurbished, in the heart of old Chichester with oodles of space and a surprisingly large garden

A dear little gingerbread-style house in the prettiest part of the estate with your own pontoon and boat on the edge of a shimmering lake

Comfortable and cosy B&B with superb food, tucked away on a dairy farm in the very quietest part of Pembrokeshire near the coast path