A dramatic house with stylish interiors – designed to bring the outdoors in so you feel wrapped in nature. Great for families or friends

An achingly elegant boutique hotel set in Mallorca's olives and orchards: candlelit organic dinners, infinity pool, a smart little bar...

Superb, all-organic agriturismo built of straw bales and offering wonderful home-grown natural food, a delightful family, great walking

Flop in a hammock and be lulled by Mediterranean scents and breezes, relax in an ancient trullo - come here for raw beauty and long views

A rustic and elegant farmhouse retreat in Provence with a pool, vineyards and wildlife-filled pond – a launchpad for the Luberon

A blissfully quiet and welcoming New Cross home. English and oriental blend - including breakfast! Rooms are airy, richly decorated and fun

Green and serene, a striking array of eco cottages on a family farm where style and comfort reign, close to the coast but far from the crowd

A marvellous spot overlooking Rutland Water for this 1760 former hunting lodge with good seasonal British food and very comfortable bedrooms

A renovated barn, part stone, part wood, resembling the tobacco barns of the area with beautiful grounds surrounded by farmland

A working farm with well renovated ancient buildings among 200 acres of pastures and forest. It's quiet here in the glorious Périgord

A beautiful main house, a romantic Tower and a lovely old wine barn for celebrations with family and friends

A very tastefully restored old stone stable on a gloriously rural estate with woodland gardens, lake and a deer park

Gite retreats in château grounds - welcoming and wonderful for young families. Build castles in the sandpit, make friends around the pool

Pomegranates, persimmon and figs, the waft of rosemary on the air... we love this old 'mas' 25km from Gordes, in sweet sunny Provence

Great for comfort, beauty, character and home baking. Borrow vintage bikes to explore Cambridge: Christine knows it inside out

Wonky floors and handmade beds in a restored coaching inn for 4, 6 or 8 - sociable evenings round the farmhouse table, walks from the door

A summer hideaway by a lively Algarvian village with a pretty garden. Sundowners, a pool, massages, a BBQ and traditional bedrooms

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