For retreats, groups of friends, and big families: come to recharge the senses at this special and ancient house enveloped by wild gardens

Just below the Tuscan town of Massa Marittima, an agriturismo loved by sporty types and families, with wonderful food on site

At the foot of the Cambrian Mountains, an ancient whitewashed cottage with cosy, light-flooded interiors – a perfect rural bolthole for two

A magical medieval castello, gloriously gothic with tower, moat and ghost, fit for a Shakespearian play.

Independent B&B with your own converted spaces sitting in a lovely garden with pool. Breakfast is served in the main house or on the terrace

A charming inn on the village green with beautiful interiors - you’ll find low ceilings, pretty rooms and a fire that burns on cold days.

Attractive country barn - great for two families sharing, for river trips, for playing in the pool, for running free

Simple country cottage living on a working organic farm. Bring your hiking boots or bikes, stride out from the door

Comfortable and cosy B&B with superb food, tucked away on a dairy farm in the very quietest part of Pembrokeshire near the coast path

Come for a quintessentially English country cottage tucked down a village path with wisteria in the garden and a short walk to a foodie pub

A sustainably run 1902 farmhouse and its converted cattle shed in countryside close to a wonderfully wild stretch of the North Devon coast

A lovely eco barn - your home from home; come for walks on the North Yorks Moors, world class cycling and cosy evenings by the wood-burner

A large, light-filled house sitting very much on its own in the middle of the peaceful Eden Valley with masses of space inside and out

Warm family hospitality, magnificent surroundings, bedroom breakfasts, candlelit dinners and elegant windows overlooking the park

One of the loveliest houses in a very lovely village. Pretty rooms have parquet floors and white walls, the food is a delight

Delicious vegetarian cooking, a pool, lemon groves and hazy views of the Hyblaean mountains make a perfect escape near Cassibile

A stately retreat, an oasis of calm and beauty. Picnic on the lawns, enjoy a glass of home-produced prosecco beneath a centuries-old tree

The South West Coast Path passes by this waterfront pub on the Teign estuary. Come for fresh bedrooms, classic dishes and excellent walking