Comfortable, understated, spotless and authentic – a modest family hideaway on Brittany’s stunning Crozon Peninsula (think Land’s End...)

There's a lovely welcome at this manoir near the sea with its family-friendly room arrangements (cottages, kitchens) and its outdoor pool

A bit like staying with friends in a smart country house, but not having to help - an elegant refuge near Bradford-on-Avon

Three luxurious apartments sleeping up to 10 people altogether, set within an elegant Georgian manor house in the Wye Valley AONB

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

This is Somerset at its most quintessential: a thatched roofed, honey-coloured Hamstone cottage with a pretty courtyard garden; sleeps four

Enfolded in gentle Dorset hills and surrounded by trees, a perfect wooden hut for 2 near beaches, River Cottage HQ and many beautiful walks

Elegance and ease mark this gentle group of Loire-Valley buildings, with soft-textured interiors and the owners’ fine hospitality and food

A beautiful 18th-century manor house on a productive wine estate with an enticing garden, spa and pool by a nature reserve. Views soar

A stunner of a setting for this restored croft house with long views to a sparkling loch and a lively village nearby. Good beaches too

One of Scotland’s coolest hotels waits at the end of a four-mile track - you find loch, mountain and sky, and Tom’s fabulous food

A grand, 16th-century Breton château complete with dovecote, turret and chapel surrounded by 50 acres of parkland, woods and small lake

A thoughtful cottage, full of warmth and cheer with lovely art and delicious pops of colour. Come for beautiful walks and much wildlife

Fine linens, cool pool and a barbecue for this soothing barn renovation in a dreamy corner of Tuscany. Friendly owners can cook on request

A hilltop setting for this ancient fortress with an illustrious past. You stay in apartments or farmhouses inside or outside the walls

A beautifully restored townhouse in the heart of Amboise, steps from Leonardo da Vinci's last home and the great Château Royal