Heaps to do on-site: organic farm shop & café, cookery & cheese-making courses, farm tours. A brilliant base for exploring the Cotswolds too

Swim in the pool overlooking vineyards, try the wines and oil made onsite, get cosy by log fires or head to the nearby beach

Perched in gorgeous gardens and with stunning views, this 18th-century presbytery has lovely rooms and an excellent gourmet restaurant

Rare as a bird, a proper old fashioned French inn on the side of the road in a sleepy village, a restoration project for the new owners

Generous apartments in a 300-year-old farmhouse with beautiful grounds and a swimming pool

A beautiful renovation: light, bright and seemingly suspended over a lush valley with cool, contemporary interiors and stunning views

Sheep's Head Way is reputedly one of the best walks in Ireland. Come back to roaring fires, a Rayburn, art and style – terrific restorations

Artists, poets, nature lovers, walkers and dreamers will be happy in this simple, airy suite surrounded by a fecund garden and much peace

Linger over a fine breakfast and olive grove valley view, borrow a bike, take to the Francigena pilgrim trail, explore medieval Anagni

A renovated bright apartment with lots of space, a hop, skip and jump away from the shingle beach of seaside-jolly Deal

A vine-clad stone house hideaway for lovers, walkers, artists and hermits with a sweet veranda overlooking woodland down to the river

Four stylish Andalusian retreats surrounded by olive groves and almond trees, and a restaurant for wonderful, seasonal food

Inside, a grand cathedral ceiling, outside, wisteria-covered terrace and pretty pool. Atlantic sands, Cognac and La Rochelle are in reach

Choose one of six uncluttered, beautiful spaces within this elegant Georgian coach house on the Denton estate, for restorative country stays

A lovely gîte, once a hunting lodge, with two private terraces overlooking the manicured gardens of an 1830s manor house

A warm, comfortable and light-filled 1800s cottage with south-facing garden and absolutely wonderful views over the Kyles of Bute

A spacious, luxurious family retreat, remote but close to Audierne. Watch surfers shoot the waves as seagulls wheel above