A cosy, beautifully refurbished flat in a Georgian house bang in the middle of the unspoilt town with its pretty streets and houses

Leave the car, everything is walkable & buses are practically free. Visit restaurants, vineyards & markets from your lofty village bolthole

Feel right at home in a thatched farmhouse on South Pool Creek, with cottage garden views, great breakfasts and a good local pub

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

Historic buildings by a turreted manor house, beautifully renovated to welcome large parties with grounds to roam and dreamy river views

In deep countryside, an expertly renovated 15th-century chapel on the banks of the Lot – a serene spot near vibrant towns

Fragrant gardens full of fruit trees, a lovingly renovated house just a few minutes’ walk from the village, and excellent breakfasts

Good old-fashioned hospitality in a quiet Highlands cottage ringed by roses and roe deer. Forest and coastal walks, shortbread and tea

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

A friendly rural town pub with smart rooms, locally inspired menus and Cheshire and north Wales to explore – bring the dog too

An exquisitely restored 500-year-old inn, where the accent is very much on food, reared and grown nearby and with very comfortable rooms

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

A lovely house set in 20 hectares with a park, two ponds, paths winding through and a pretty river. Delicious locally-sourced meals too

A niftily converted barn with high vaulted ceiling sitting on a hill with wonderful views over a newly-created lake and the Stour Valley

Come for a bright, roomy, uber-green and accessible larch-clad space with garden and pond in pretty countryside

A cheery farmhouse conversion for groups outside a village in a non-touristy part of Italy, close to scenic trails and medieval villages

Old beams and rich history: a dramatic setting for fireside chats, superb breakfasts (home-reared, baked, grown) - and Midsomer Murders

An impressive limestone house on three levels created within the ruins of an ancient village with uninterrupted views of the Vézère valley