Come to this cosy barn down a winding lane for a back-to-nature escape: hike the Black Mountains, splash in the stream, gaze at the views

Light-filled house full of modern art and antique finds with stunning gardens and a pool. The best of Provence is on your doorstep

In a small town in Salento is a cool southern house of elegant simplicity, ideal for a large family, near to beaches & 45 minutes from Lecce

A birdwatchers’ paradise in heavenly valley setting with friendly hosts and delicious seasonal cooking. Explore national park from the door

Restored stone barn on a farm in the Lake District National Park, with views of fields and woods and an excellent pub nearby

In a hamlet in the Loire countryside is a friendly estate with a family-sized gite, a shared saltwater pool and heaps of old-world charm

Sun-dappled walks along the romantic avenues, big bedrooms, breakfasts inside or out, a laid-back atmosphere and great markets nearby

Vast rooms, thick stone walls and ancient flagged floors skilfully modernised to create comfort, surrounded by romantic château gardens

A very comfortable, pretty cottage, safe for dogs and young children, surrounded by garden and mature woodland on the Badminton Estate

Spread out in much style with friends or family in a beautifully renovated Victorian farmhouse at the foot of the Howgill fells

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

Stay a while... lulled by lapping sea and fragrant hanging gardens - cool, light, balconied, classic, intimate, unpretentious

A fortified castle in parkland, built mostly in the 1300s on the Montbazens plateau, near to the stunning Averyon gorges

A hammock by the pool, dinner under the stars, Andalucian nature (wild boar, birds, olives) all around. Chatty English hosts charm all

An historic, moated manor house dating from the 16th-century, fully restored and with all mod cons, including an indoor heated pool

A welcoming inn with rooms on the edge of a small village. Stay in a converted barn in the pretty garden, eat delicious country fare

Nature lovers will be tempted to this gem of a village cottage in the Duddon Valley – a truly peaceful slice of the Lakes

Come for dreamy river views, a lovely garden and this bolthole for two, beautifully renovated inside and out and with a private hot tub