Lovely old manor house and clever garden with a relaxed, happy vibe and home-baked or homegrown treats on arrival and at breakfasts

Glorious boutique hotel on the Sorrento Peninsula with Michelin-starred restaurant and superb cellar to explore

A large and light house sitting by itself in lovely countryside with a big pool, maturing gardens and superb views up to Saignon on the hill

Families and walkers will be happy at this unfussy seaside retreat with beaches down the road and coastal paths right by your door

An exquisitely restored 1850s townhouse, steeped in history, with a sweet garden and within walking distance of the historic centre of Porto

A beautifully converted building, part of an old mill, now a gorgeous place to stay with the stream running through and shared parkland

Your friendly hosts offer you stylish bedrooms, swims in the heated pool, and wonderful dinners and wines. Cahors is only a 10-minute drive

A gorgeous big old house on a farm in a very quiet part of Wiltshire - the undiscovered North Wessex Downs, filled with wildlife and an AONB

A 15th-century Venetian palazzo, lovingly restored with stylish rooms overlooking the Grand Canal and a designer's insight into the city

A sculptor's studio, flooded with light, converted into a restful holiday home surrounded by glorious countryside, near Totnes

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

A handsome château filled with intrigue and interest on the edge of a Bastide town in Landes. Your charming host looks after you with aplomb

This stately-looking former manor house set back from the road in acres of gardens serves very good food and has rustic-chic bedrooms

Light-filled chalet in a small hamlet just outside Châtel. Feast on superb breakfasts before heading out to explore the Portes du Soleil

A sustainably run 1902 farmhouse and a cottage in countryside close to a wonderfully wild stretch of the North Devon coast

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

A three storey house and garden with sea glimpses in the 'vieux village' named for the Mimosa trees which flower in profusion in winter

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