Come for super ridgeway walks and explore charming towns and villages from this pretty 18th-century cottage in the Chalke Valley

An 18th-century beamed inn with tasty food, pretty bedrooms and a large garden just a ten-minute drive from Chichester

A period manor and pretty rooms in old stables: a quiet base for Pas-de-Calais and Picardie. Madame loves the house, animals, story-telling

A bustling inn with beautiful interiors, lovely food and deep peace all around - beaches, castles and Roman palaces wait on your doorstep

A joyful, inviting house on a 15-acre smallholding in Devon. Super food, gracious hosts, delightful bedrooms - leave feeling nourished

Fabulous bakes and hot waffles at breakfast, green fields all around and Normandy steeped in history. Great for foodies and historians

Sun-soaked stillness, saltwater dips and garden scents of fig and rosemary - slow days unfold between olive trees and a sky full of stars

Tucked away from the busy glamour of the Riviera, come and unwind, from two to twelve people, in a peaceful garden and stone farmhouse

A wonderfully maintained Grade II listed country house in the Brecon Beacons with extensive gardens and panoramic views of the Usk Valley

A thoughtfully renovated cottage in a small hamlet with garden, courtyard and pool. The peace is palpable but you're near to bustling Tusson

Well-positioned winery for the whole of the Bordeaux region. Or stay put and learn about the Duhamels’ super organic Cotes de Bourg wines

A light and bright 1900s holiday home for family holidays by the sea, with a large enclosed garden and a short hop to beach and shops

An incredible living museum, dedicated to the history of Sicily and the arts. Stay in the main house or in a cottage in the fecund garden

A 19th-century bothy in remote, rugged countryside on the edge of the Cairngorms, for walkers, birders and seekers of peace

Once a shooting lodge, this stand-alone big building was part of a medieval estate and you can still see the grassy mount and dungeon tower

Rustic, relaxing, comfortable and fun with pool and play area, river beaches, great hosts, peaceful countryside, an hour from Porto

An old sporting lodge in Argyll renovated with sensitivity – fish in the river, gaze at the night skies, climb Ben Udlaidh

This famous old country house might not come cheap, but where else can you splash out in such decadent style for life’s big celebrations?