Tranquil retreat with pool, pétanque and spa – the perfect base for exploring historic Poitiers, châteaux and wonderful wine country

Up in the Cévennes, this big, beautiful family house has superb views, a fine kitchen, lots of space and masses to do and see

Immaculate Cotswold beauty with great food, welcoming staff, handsome rooms and a sun-trap terrace, plus countryside walks from the door

Free-spirited travellers rejoice! A super house on a volcanic Sicilian island – hike, sail, dive & immerse yourself in local life

Come for fine food and drink, sumptuous bedrooms and a relaxed, informal atmosphere at this gorgeous Cotswold manor house with ancient roots

Rural French heaven at this lovely farm within four hectares. Natural materials, neutral colours and a lavender-lined pool all to yourselves

A pleasing (not very little) place to stay in the heart of a wood within the unspoilt countryside of the South Downs National Park

This is a superb base to explore the island's glittering bays, vibrant coastal cities, mountains, valleys and forests

Former blacksmith’s workshop in a chocolate-box corner of the New Forest, where clematis climbs the trellis and all you hear are the birds

A welcoming inn with rooms on the edge of a small village. Stay in a converted barn in the pretty garden, eat delicious country fare

A stylish hotel, tucked away yet central, an unusually quiet base for exploring Rome just a three-minute walk from the tube station

Come to recharge in the lovely Loire valley at this fine château surrounded by mature gardens and green countryside

Furniture from home-grown wood, reclaimed tiles - beautiful. The Jurassic Coast is near, Bridport's antiques, too. Cycle, walk, spot birds

Three luxurious apartments sleeping up to 10 people altogether, set within an elegant Georgian manor house in the Wye Valley AONB

A cosy bolt hole near medieval Cartmel with woods, meadows and wildlife – great for walkers in this quiet part of the South Lakes

A lovely listed cottage, just stumbling distance from a good pub in a quiet village surrounded by spectacular walking and cycling country

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

A real gem set back from the hustle and bustle but perfectly placed to explore the city's many charms