Vast rooms, thick stone walls and ancient flagged floors skilfully modernised to create comfort, surrounded by romantic château gardens

A stylish, cosy, stone-flagged cottage with vintage and modern furniture, wood-burners, patios and views - and three excellent pubs nearby

You're on an ancient packhorse trail just a stone's throw from the coast. There's a timeless feel to this place and the peace is deep

A beautiful villa with a medieval tower surrounded by formal gardens, gentle slopes of perfectly maintained vineyards and wooded hilltops

Comfortable, traditional, accessible and in the grounds of an old rectory with meadows and the river Frome nearby for summer dips

Homely furnishings and 17th-century charm at this estate on the Severn, whose owners are mad about horses and give you fine home produce

Proper village pub with much-praised food and cosy rooms; country walks lead from the door and Oxford is half an hour away

All you'd hope for, and more! Enormous rooms, marvellous beams, majestic views and wines from their vineyard

This deeply peaceful retreat will soothe the soul; come to walk, bike, sail then back to a roaring fire and good book. A sublime spot

A mix of bold colours, modern art and vintage finds give this classic French mansion bags of personality

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

With a sauna in the woods and a Nordic bath by the lake, these carefully renovated farm buildings are a lovely slow-living retreat

A deliciously rural stone house with charmingly simple rustic-chic interiors and saline pool - an hour from Perugia

Eat in the sheltered, quirky, outdoor dining area, enjoy Madame's colourful garden in its village setting - ideal for those on a budget

One of four wooden-clad off-grid cottages, sleek and calm indoors, high up in the Cheviot Hills and with stunning views over the valley

Come for big skies, grand walking and hilly cycling. Style and comfort abound in this cottage set on the hillside with views to North Uist

Deep luxury, superb service and a wealth of delightful things to admire at this small hotel on a very quiet street in the heart of the city

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