Stay in a celebrated French author’s holiday home, beautifully restored and tucked among pines next to one of Brittany's loveliest bays

Amazing beaches, a pub you can hike to, a train to get you to Snowdonia... and your own remote cottage with stunning views

Sweep along the gravel drive through lawns and specimen trees to this elegant manor house with 17th-century roots

Your host runs home and B&B with effortless efficiency and you'll find shiny, spotless rooms to retreat to after a day's exploring

Come to be inspired - by the buildings, the art, the concept and the rich history. You should be very comfortable too, and well fed

Ascot is a trot down the road and there's a really cosy, cottagey feel to this quaint 18th-century inn with great food and comfy bedrooms

Come here in the summer (it’s closed Nov-April except by arrangement) for candlelit dining, chintzy bedrooms, long views over the park...

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

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

This shuttered, stone maison in Gascony on the Santiago de Compostela pilgrims' route is a joy for families to spend time together

You’re in the heart of untamed countryside here, beside the river Oise, welcomed by friendly hosts who cook and care for you

A very attractive stone building on a smallholding with all mod cons, a bedroom for stargazing, Guest Farm Shop and pretty communal gardens

Tranquil manor house deep in Bordeaux wine region with six acres of grounds, a tennis court and swimming pool

Overlooking Menton and the Mediterranean, this lofty apartment in a grand Belle Époque palace is perfectly placed to explore the Riviera

An exquisite, serene B&B with sweeping views, tucked between hills, vineyards and meadows and the ancient remains of a Benedictine abbey

A natural idyll made even better by friendly owners. Bask in the mountain views, explore astonishing Asturias, settle into the slow pace

A spacious courtyard, two ancient yews and this lovely restored house ooze charm - swim, cycle, walk in glorious countryside, taste cognac

A charming base in historic Beaulieu - expect delicious food, traditional country-house interiors, and walks that start from the front door