Swap the mêlée for privacy and wonderful views. Delicious meals, an outdoor hot tub and Portes du Soleil skiing on your doorstep

Gather the clans and just come. It's lovely here among acres of wildlife-filled grounds – a Sawday's Community Champion

Superb rural views, excellent hiking and generous bedrooms. Cristina and Alec take good care of guests - the food is delicious

Fabulous bakes and hot waffles at breakfast, green fields all around and Normandy steeped in history. Great for foodies and historians

A charming renovated stone gîte only 15km from Bergerac with a large outdoor pool, pretty gardens and walks and cycle rides from the door

Families will adore coming here, to reconnect through wonderful outdoor activities in glorious countryside and to feel cossetted indoors

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

A privilege to be able to stay within the famous gardens of magnificent Château de Courances. The painter's village of Barbizon is nearby

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

A lovely big old farmhouse for gatherings of friends and family with your own indoor pool, sauna, gym and jacuzzi

Choose one of six uncluttered, beautiful spaces within this elegant Georgian coach house on the Denton estate, for restorative country stays

A light-filled village cottage for 2 near Bosherston Lily Ponds. Come to ramble the coastal path, enjoy sandy beaches and visit local pubs

An exceptional villa with four acres of private gardens, high in the mountains and with stunning views over Lake Como - the perfect oasis

A sophisticated and friendly Basque beauty overlooking the Bay of Biscay, in Txakoli vineyard country – prepare to be thoroughly spoilt

Grade II-listed country hotel with lovely gardens and an excellent restaurant, a short walk from Ambleside and the top of Lake Windermere

Two riverside properties with incredible views, for walkers, sailors, dogs... and self-caterers who aim to be spoiled rotten

Up in the Cévennes, this big, beautiful family house has superb views, a fine kitchen, lots of space and masses to do and see