Big beautiful apartments in a serene setting in southern Tuscany, with pool. And courses for everyone - organised by one delightful family

Fall in love with this riverside village, lost in a valley in lower Normandy, and this sunny house for couples or families

A peaceful grown-up place circled by meadows and woodland with helpful owners next door – a superb spot to explore the south-west

A true gem - sleep in a small hillside castle, share delicious communal meals, walk or cycle to the beautiful waterfalls nearby

Five tranquil apartments surrounded by Tuscan countryside just over half an hour's drive from Siena - hire them all for a group holiday

Character and quirk in old and new design and furnishing – private terraces, a shared pool, great walking, cycling and wine-tasting

Between Penzance & Helston, close to Praa Sands, is a beautiful bolthole for 6. Good for garden lovers & peace-seekers – dog-friendly too

Up in the hills, an amazing family holiday with Lorna and Lee. Weekly paella nights, great pool, lovely walking. Beauty therapies, too...

Beautifully designed timber cabins in the Black Mountains, right next to a lovely old inn serving good, honest food from their own farm

A warm, gracious townhouse in a small town, run by delightful new hosts. Explore chateaux, canoe on the Loire... cycle to Angers!

A welcoming country-house hotel that’s popular with locals and visitors alike - good food, stylish rooms and an airy restaurant wait

This old stone building, a former olive warehouse, is beautifully restored and sits on its own – a simple bolthole for rest and recuperation

A solid 1704 farmhouse with a peaceful, welcoming feel on the edge of a small hamlet with two acres of gardens set in glorious countryside

A lovely modern Provençal house, light and welcoming, in a valley of vineyards and forest, tucked peacefully away from the coast

A scrupulously renovated dog-friendly gate lodge with garden and outdoor dining area, a five-minute drive from Mount Congreve Gardens

Outside a perfect bastide village, an elegant manoir for lazy days in the Dordogne, fabulous dinners and glorious gardens

Up the drive flanked by grazing horses, to a warm welcome from the housekeeper and a great fire in the hall. Perfect for family gatherings

If you need a great place in which to relax and don’t want to pay too much for it, try these excellent suites, which spoil you all the way