Such lovely views from this light-filled flat, built in the 19th century – curl up with a book and gaze out to sea

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

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

An ancient thatched cottage near Dartmoor with a warming log fire in winter and flowers inside and out in the summer

An art-filled home poised above Hastings Old Town in a wonderfully private, peaceful spot and with a lush, tropical garden

A timbered, fire-warmed village farmhouse, home-grown dinners, delightfully French hosts. Deliciously authentic, generous and calm

A chalet-with-everything: great mountain style, space and comfort with views of Mont Blanc, a sauna and bubbling hot tub

A chilled, family-friendly hotel on a sandy surfing beach with huge views and a sensational pool with sustainability at its heart

A fuss-free, informal place to stay with family - your own entrance straight from the garden and tasty breakfasts set up in a summer house

Gaze on Umbrian hills as the children play, watch the fireflies dance at night. Dine fabulously in Gubbio - or here. Sociable-family bliss

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

A medieval monastery, stunningly revived, in untouristy, car-free Pisciotta. Sip greco on the terrace; scramble through olives to the sea

Historic village inn with wonderful cooking and a Provençal-style courtyard garden; drive to the Jurassic Coast in half an hour

What do you do with a down-at-heel roadside inn? You get Mhor to come and turn it into a quirky base with their funky style and lovely food

For escapists, wannabe writers and lovers of rural bliss: two boho hideaways for two (four at a squeeze) in this lush corner of Galicia

An airy, well-designed hideaway for two in an ancient barn on a quiet farm. This is prime walking country with Hadrian’s Wall nearby.

Two elegantly renovated spaces with wonderful views, lots of activities and large gardens for making memories with family and friends

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