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

Spacious rooms and a cosy apartment a stone’s throw from Avignon’s historic sights. Retire to the heated pool after a busy day sightseeing

An 18th-century cottage for four on a working sheep farm: walk the Pentland Hills, get the bus to Edinburgh for culture

Artistic souls will like it here, and those who enjoy shared meals & getting to know other people in dramatic countryside; Arezzo is 40 km

Luxuriate in style at this central Lecce palazzo with gorgeous rooms, delicious breakfasts (lunch & dinner by arrangement). Walk everywhere

Outside a perfect bastide village, an elegant manoir for lazy days in the Dordogne, fabulous dinners and glorious gardens

A fine country manor house on the edge of a village, peacefully surrounded by gardens and trees, and close to the D-Day landing beaches

Cosy Lakeland stone barn in acres of peaceful countryside for walkers, wildlife lovers and those wishing for a retreat

An ancient manor from the middle ages, built against a stone cliff with extensive terraced grounds, pool and parkland filled with wildlife

Come for wide open countryside criss-crossed by a myriad of footpaths and this very comfortable, stylish and roomy retreat

A romantic creekside cottage down a web of narrow lanes in a tumbling green valley – mess about on the water to your heart’s content

Inspiring scenery for this lavender farm near a Provençal village. Rustic eco-friendly cottages, a hump-backed bridge, a hammock by the pool

Cosy bolthole for two in a charming market town on the edge of Dartmoor – stroll to restaurants and shops or explore the moors

Old meets new in Benoit’s charming villa with courtyard pool, breakfasts to linger over and all the fun of La Baule on the doorstep

A small, family-run boutique hotel sitting right at the foot of Etna with wonderful views, garden, pool and ambrosial Sicilian breakfasts

A gorgeous house, beautifully refurbished in contemporary style, with chic interiors and a swimming pool in a sublime English garden