A nicely priced inn on Shaftesbury's high street with a warm contemporary style and some excellent food – fine local walking waits

Come for good architecture, thoughtful design and much space for relaxing: swimming, massages, hammam and sauna, beautiful bedrooms

Feel French in this very beautiful 300-year-old house with a large garden and pool in a hilltop medieval village of winding, cobbled streets

Traditional house with a contemporary and imaginative interior; stroll to shops and restaurants, jump in the car to explore Provence

2 lakes, streams, landscaped gardens, woodlands and waterfalls... a paradise for families, nature lovers, peace-seekers and birdwatchers

A romantic creekside cottage down a web of narrow lanes in a tumbling green valley – mess about on the water to your heart’s content

Rooms in the house overlook the vineyard, the lodges are surrounded by it - check out the vines, then drink their wine with a good dinner

Two cottages which can be taken together, in wing of a warm yellow 1927 house. Charming owners, beautiful grounds and breathtaking views

Elegant Regency rectory full of charm, with walks in all directions, views to gaze at and kind, generous hosts. A rare place

Enfolded in gentle Dorset hills and surrounded by trees, a perfect wooden hut for 2 near beaches, River Cottage HQ and many beautiful walks

A quirky hotel with enthusiastic owners in an authentic Andalucian town, just ten minutes up winding roads from Marbella

Come for plenty of space and wonderful views to the Pyrenees on clear days from this converted outbuilding in the grounds of a château

Families can unwind at this lovely old higgledy-piggledy farmhouse in typical southern Algarve style, with a big pool and lush greenery

Delightful B&B on a working farm, generous hosts welcome you with tea and homemade cake. Bring a piece of furniture and give it a facelift!

You’re wrapped in parkland here and close to the coast, gardens and war memorials. A treat of a stop-over for foodies

Plenty of restful, comfortable space indoors and out in the Mediterranean garden with its courtyard pool – restaurants to walk to

A picture-perfect village and a beautifully refurbished 17th-century inn with a cracking bar, stylish bedrooms and delicious pub food

Picturesque cottage in the grounds of a grand manor, lovingly and creatively restored by its welcoming English owner