Traditional and modern, verging on the opulent. Find a stone-flagged tap room for walkers, top modern food and Chatsworth-perfect bedrooms

Beautiful architecture, amazing wine cellars, great food, and hosts with an infectious enthusiasm for classical music. Lovely French B&B

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

Spend restful days in a verdant garden, slip into the cooling pool, sip wine on your private balcony, stroll into arty Benissa

A striking modern villa tucked away off a small road above the Serchio valley with sparkling pool, gardens and Apuan mountain views

Gloriously green rural self-catering apartments with pool and lovely, friendly owners

Fun, playful space for a couple (+ 2 kids) with a semaphore code to crack, shared terrace & rainbow bathroom - a Sawday's Community Champion

A delightful coastal house with lush courtyard gardens, masses of space, home office and terraces galore

Created around a Georgian house, with lake, woodland and fields, this hotel and members' club offers great food, fresh air and much comfort

Absolutely no neighbours and stunning views from this delicious little cottage, which peeks over the trees in a magical SSSI valley

A small, delightful hotel, perched on a high hill within a 14th-century convent with stunning views, garden and pool - very special indeed

Come for the gloriously peaceful countryside and this 1700s house and garden, scrupulously renovated and with plenty of space

Comfortable, understated, spotless and authentic – a modest family hideaway on Brittany’s stunning Crozon Peninsula (think Land’s End...)

Sumptuous bedrooms and delicious breakfasts at these two magnificent wings in glorious gardens and grounds next to the castle

An 18th-century converted barn with lofty beamed ceilings, exposed stonework, handmade oak windows and much art – pretty garden too

Sublime views across the Tuscan countryside, seasonal food and the kindest host. Children are welcome, oenophiles will be in heaven

A bright, light newly built annexe flat adjoining a farmhouse and sitting on a hill looking out over a lake and fields beyond to the village

The cottage looks down over Lough Swilly, idyllic for boats and safe swims... and the neighbours are friendly, just sheep and cows