Bountiful breakfasts, the warmest of owners and Breton adventures. Enjoy romantic ruins, quaint villages and delicious seafood suppers

Explore country markets, churches and châteaux - return to a gite in private parkland with an artist's studio on site, and a blissful pool

Charming, vivacious hosts make you feel welcome at this splendid 16th-century home. Cooking classes, wine pairing and excellent regional food

Good looking barn conversion for sociable gatherings on an organic farm – meet the animals, take a day trip, go walking

Rare as a bird, a proper old fashioned French inn on the side of the road in a sleepy village, a restoration project for the new owners

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

Come for the rural charm of this cottage. Green as far as the eye can see, near a village surrounded by rivers. Wellies essential

A lovely gîte, once a hunting lodge, with two private terraces overlooking the manicured gardens of an 1830s manor house

A very special restored Augustinian monastery, sitting in the Monti Rognosi Nature Reserve and radiating a timeless charm

An hour from Edinburgh, this large estate wrapped in ancient woodland & steeped in history is a super outdoorsy retreat – dogs welcome too

Gaze over to glorious Curemonte from the pretty cottage, loll by the pool, play games in the barn. Bring friends and book the main house too

Good old-fashioned service, fresh and gleaming surroundings, great food and very comfortable rooms at this rejuvenated roadside inn

An 18th-century cottage for four on a working sheep farm: walk the Pentland Hills, get the bus to Edinburgh for culture

Luxuriate in style at this central Lecce palazzo with gorgeous rooms, delicious breakfasts (lunch & dinner by arrangement). Walk everywhere

In château parkland, 10 minutes from Chinon, find books, beams and open spaces for three renovated houses, a delight for families

A country idyll in the hills. Only 15 mins from Faro, but all is peaceful: dip in the pool, sip a cocktail in the shade, book in for dinner

A lovely bolthole in remote North Yorkshire – follow stunning hill walks with a soak in the roll top bath, and a glass of bubbly

A beautifully renovated lighthouse with stunning views from the lantern room. Pretty bedrooms, great walking and fabulous breakfasts