An L-shaped former farmhouse is now a gorgeous place to stay, just half an hour from the sea or the mountains and near interesting villages

An exquisitely restored 500-year-old inn, where the accent is very much on food, reared and grown nearby and with very comfortable rooms

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

Everything you need is here: a wood-burner for winter, a pool and spacious terraces for summer, and peace and beauty all year round

If you need a great place in which to relax and don’t want to pay too much for it, try these excellent suites, which spoil you all the way

An island of oyster farms, salt pans and white beaches, woolly donkeys, countless push-bikes and the odd celeb – we love the Ile de Ré!

A cool pub with smart rooms, English ales and Thai-inspired food. Farringdon tube is round the corner and you can walk to the Barbican

Beauty, charm and tranquillity an hour from Florence, on a bio-sensitive farm known for Chianina cattle and white truffles

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

A warm, inviting boutique hotel in Shrewsbury’s historic centre; potter about the medieval streets, relax in a sun-catching courtyard

Kids range free, adults recharge in these two gites on a 17th-century estate with sunny gardens and a pool. Hike, bike, swim, relax...

In Andalusia, step through an ancient wooden door into this Moorish-inspired townhouse with a pool and tapas bars just moments away

You get the best of all worlds here. Delicious beds, Provençal soaps, vineyard views, fresh croissants a stroll away…

Wonky floors and handmade beds in a restored coaching inn for 4, 6 or 8 - sociable evenings round the farmhouse table, walks from the door

Dine in the orangery on excellent cuisine, or take breakfast in bed with the shutters thrown wide. Simply delightful

Elegant, calm, charming B&B in a 12th-century house surrounded by fields, quiet country roads and vibrant little villages

Charming gardens for you and your dog in a barn conversion in rural Norfolk half an hour from coast

On the edge of the South Downs, this smartly renovated pub with contemporary rooms serves seasonal home cooked food and a warm welcome