Converted barn with the most welcoming owners – the garden and pool are all yours; explore a less touristy part of the Dordogne

You're right on the water in this 1820 granary-turned-hotel, with calming bedrooms, bustling bar and restaurant serving excellent local fare

Three spacious manor apartments with views for big gatherings of family or friends. Walk to the beach or the pub, play tennis and croquet

One of England's oldest coaching inns, full of history and wonky floors, on a Surrey market town's high street

A 300-year-old cottage and a secluded, magical setting next to the longest sea loch in the UK, for walkers, dreamers and nature lovers

A fabulous old house filled with history, treasure and stories – now a colourful, larger-than-life hotel in the arty district of Belfast

A lovely little bolthole to return to after days out exploring pretty Cotswold villages and walking in an AONB straight from the door

Old wooden sleigh beds, check-clothed tables, log fires, a courtyard of centuries-old trees, a claw foot bath. Stacks of character

Gorgeous small hotel perfectly placed for the magical Dales - stylish bedrooms, open fires, lovely staff and pretty gardens all wait

Medieval manor house and busy farm. A welcoming atmosphere, big bedrooms, breakfast in the baronial great hall by the cosy log fire

A sweet retreat for a nature-loving couple, with soul-searching views and the smell of the sea. Logs and Breton cider are on the house...

Loved by estate-workers, visitors, well-heeled locals, and walkers, this spruced-up pub is a friendly launchpad for Chatsworth

An exquisitely restored 1850s townhouse, steeped in history, with a sweet garden and within walking distance of the historic centre of Porto

A comfortably stylish renovation of a 19th-century farmhouse, perfect for big groups & multi-generation families to reconnect in rural peace

A hideaway for two on an old farm, gifted to The National Trust for Jersey, with a pretty walled garden and circled by verdant countryside

There’s a calm feel to this three-storey cottage, close to the centre of Bridport and the beach. Great for families, walkers and dogs

A period manor and pretty rooms in old stables: a quiet base for Pas-de-Calais and Picardie. Madame loves the house, animals, story-telling

This grand house on the river Derwent oozes old-fashioned comfort – find traditional bedrooms, delicious food and an open fire