Fine linens, cool pool and a barbecue for this soothing barn renovation in a dreamy corner of Tuscany. Friendly owners can cook on request

A grand, 16th-century Breton château complete with dovecote, turret and chapel surrounded by 50 acres of parkland, woods and small lake

A luxurious springboard for the wineries, villages and treasures of south Tuscany in the magical Orcia valley - if you can bear to leave it!

A beautiful house with Pyrenean views, generous hosts and wonderful hiking, biking and skiing nearby. A rare pearl

Exceptional generosity reigns at this complex of 5 excellent, colourful holiday apartments, with pool and meals, on the Sorrento Peninsula

Perfect for families - a glorious farmhouse surrounded by lavender fields. Rooms are huge and children can roam free in the vast gardens

Up and away to a truly wild Welsh experience from this ancient stone house sitting on a ridge, with stunning valley and mountain views

A fine designer house and pool above the coastal hurly-burly and one of the loveliest coves in Spain, backing onto a nature park. Happy hols

An elegant Burgundian townhouse with pool on the fringe of Morvan National Park in Côte d'Or. Dijon, with Beaune and Chablis an easy drive

A beautiful cream stone building in the grounds of a grand château, with a large and view-filled outdoor terrace for peaceful dawdling

A gorgeous wooden-clad off-grid cottage deep in the National Park with far-reaching views, unfussy interiors and spoiling extra treatments

Wow. The sort of place you long for on dreary days - inspired architecture, heavenly views, delicious home-cooked food, a lake for swimming

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

A peaceful, very stylish bolthole for 2 on the doorstep of glorious Holyrood Park, with Edinburgh’s sights a stroll away

A quirky, colourful house with views to the Aveyron river, green forests and stunning cliffs across the valley. A short stroll into town

Off-the-beaten track cottage promises peace and quiet, wild swimming and hikes in the hills. A world away from the urban jungle

A very thoughtful and peaceful house with a garden for happy holidays with family or friends, surrounded by glorious countryside for walks

Come for much grace, space and inspiration in this huge-windowed, view-filled spot surrounded by gloriously untrammelled countryside