Taste the wine, plunge into the granite pool, play billiards in the library, linger outdoors as swallows swoop – eat delicious local dishes

Authenticity and originality combine at this family chateau with its panelled rooms, theatrical flourishes and charming candlelit dinners

An ideal stopover at a handsome 1790 house on the edge of a small village surrounded by beautiful countryside and with friendly young owners

Come for a big gathering of friends or family and take the whole house plus an extra cottage in the pretty gardens – swim in the pool, relax

Gorgeous rooms and splendid breakfasts – for sybarites, history-lovers, cyclists and canoeists - bang in the middle of ancient Long Melford

One of five cottages on the Wern Estate, all comfort and charm, with a garden for kids, rockpools at Black Rock Sands and a mountain railway

Sumptuous and pampering with monogrammed sheets and frescoed walls.More for honeymooners and couples than lolly-licking tots

A 17th-Century Irish castle on the water’s edge. Watch the yachts from your bedroom, join local wine nights, discover the rich history

This civilised bolthole offers a quiet retreat, castle views and the magic of Edinburgh on your doorstep

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

In glorious rural Umbria, a spacious old farmhouse with magnificent views of mountains and Lago Trasimeno, rustic décor and a lovely pool

Rooms are good value, breakfast is taken overlooking the garden and there's superb veggie food next door - a Sawday's Community Champion

Charming cottage in a vast garden with a swimming pool and boule; walk to the nearest village, drive to Côte d'Azur in less than an hour

Get away from it all in the heart of Northumberland National Park, with walks leaving from your door and incredible dark skies at night

A lovely little bolthole for two on a gorgeous estate with restaurant, deli and superb gardens, sculpture walk and wildflower meadows

A gorgeous big old house on a farm in a very quiet part of Wiltshire - the undiscovered North Wessex Downs, filled with wildlife and an AONB

A renovated, comfy Victorian cottage behind a small village pub, a hub for the local community and with good food, ales and wine

Up at the top of Scotland’s west coast, a small, stylish and welcoming hotel with lovely owners and some nicely priced rooms