Friendly Maki and Clive's higgledy-piggledy home is a charming, special place. Rooms are cosy, Clive's cookery courses are fun and delicious

A honey-hued family home clad with vines and roses with a swimming pool and heaps of space – perfect for families

Rambling casitas in a mountain hamlet, with a rustic bar, big shared pool and golf course, surrounded by birds, bougainvillea and views

A great find if you want to be close to all the action but nicely tucked away. Friendly pub downstairs, cool bedrooms up, Soho 20 minutes

Escape to this contemporary barn on a friendly farmstead with fern-fringed cliffs and walks galore on your door. Ask about ferry discounts

Bright, cosy cottage off the beaten track between the South Hams and Dartmoor, with good pubs nearby and an en suite ground-floor bedroom

Italian style marries Californian comfort, with views over hilltop towns, vineyards and the majestic Sibillini mountains beyond

In peaceful walled gardens, this former convent is a quiet retreat just a stone’s throw from the Riviera coast and the best of Tuscany

The largest of three secluded cottages that share a gravel courtyard and a beautiful garden with cathedral views

A picture-perfect village and a beautifully refurbished 17th-century inn with a cracking bar, stylish bedrooms and delicious pub food

Come for a sense of complete peace surrounded by country and coast with wonderful interiors to boot – a bolthole for two (plus two)

A cottage for two on a wonderfully eco wine school and vineyard. Gaze at magnificent views from your terrace

Come for fine food and drink, sumptuous bedrooms and a relaxed, informal atmosphere at this gorgeous Cotswold manor house with ancient roots

A converted farmhouse set in a large mature garden, well located for exploring the delights of the Lot et Garonne south of the Dordogne

Fall asleep to the sound of the sea in your dreamy thatched cottage, one of 6, right on the beach for those head-clearing walks...

Steeped in history and romance, with a great big sleigh bed and open fires, is this 14th-century defence tower above the river Tweed

Come for home-baked bread, eggs from the hens, arrays of fresh fruit, and fabulous river views... your hosts do lovely B&B

A spacious, luxurious family retreat, remote but close to Audierne. Watch surfers shoot the waves as seagulls wheel above