Good looking barn conversion for sociable gatherings on an organic farm – meet the animals, take a day trip, go walking

Eight miles from York, near Moors and coast, this smart historic home is just the ticket for families and small groups of friends

The view is pure Canaletto, the vibe is modern and laid back. Just minutes from all Venice’s best bits, but with far fewer tourists

Come for good architecture, thoughtful design and much space for relaxing: swimming, massages, hammam and sauna, beautiful bedrooms

A very pretty old coach house in a south London garden – perfect for a couple or a family. Friendly owners live across the courtyard

A very comfortable, pretty cottage, safe for dogs and young children, surrounded by garden and mature woodland on the Badminton Estate

A lovely, rambling old house for family gatherings with an extra cottage for bigger groups, a gorgeous garden and hilltop villages nearby

A charming home-from-home in the Yorkshire Dales with stunning country views; come for Fell walks, great pubs and cosy fireside board games

A cluster of traditional farm buildings making up three holiday cottages in very attractive grounds with fruit trees, meadows and woodland

A truly peaceful and charming hideout in a joyful, bird-filled setting - look after yourselves and retreat, or be thoroughly spoiled

A rustic haven in Vouvray wine country: bask on sun beds near the elegant pool, cosy up to the wood-burner, relax in your beautiful bedroom

A 18th-century house with pool in a small town with friendly owners and a tropical garden of banana, fig and, of course, frangipani

Stay on a secluded private estate by the sea - once the home of the brilliant French writer, Colette

A light, bright, Georgian coaching inn with super-efficient staff, lovely terrace, sumptuous rooms and excellent, seasonal food

Light, airy rooms for couples in an Asturian villa - home-baked breads, organic dinners and lovely country walks, 40 minutes from coast

Sublime views across the Tuscan countryside, seasonal food and the kindest host. Children are welcome, oenophiles will be in heaven

For escapists, wannabe writers and lovers of rural bliss: two boho hideaways for two (four at a squeeze) in this lush corner of Galicia

At the foot of the Cambrian Mountains, an ancient whitewashed cottage with cosy, light-flooded interiors – a perfect rural bolthole for two