A nature-filled estate for smart lodge holidays in rural peace with woods and coast to explore, onsite activities and yummy homemade meals

A chalet-with-everything: great mountain style, space and comfort with views of Mont Blanc, a sauna and bubbling hot tub

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

Rustic farmhouse with two and a half acres of landscaped gardens, a swimming pool and views over the Pyrenees – the sunrises are amazing

An old chapel, smartly and sustainably converted, with a hot tub to soothe tired limbs after country walks through fells and dales

Shady spots in the garden, a pool overlooked by tall palms, a bar nook stocked with drinks and a new spa in the Serra do Açor

A gentle, calm, immaculate place for an all-season family stay, near wine tastings, castles, caves and canoeing. Everyone loves the Dordogne

Airy interiors, good local food and a blissful rural setting for this refurbished inn, popular with locals and with a happy, bustling vibe

A lovely gîte, once a hunting lodge, with two private terraces overlooking the manicured gardens of an 1830s manor house

A charming 17th-century cottage in a quaint village with views and the owners' pub, farm shop, Wellness Barn and brewery just a short walk

A lovely 1650 Welsh longhouse, beamed and flagstoned with a verdant garden in a totally unspoilt spot in the Snowdonia National Park

An elegant 18th-century manor in the market town of Malesherbes, sitting behind its own walls and with mature gardens for a peaceful retreat

A grand yet very homely place with tasty home cooking and 200 acres to explore. Play golf, sail, cycle – wonderfully informal

A row of old brick stables now craftily converted into a light-filled and very peaceful place to stay with a garden room and gorgeous views

Once a shooting lodge, this stand-alone big building was part of a medieval estate and you can still see the grassy mount and dungeon tower

Cosied up by the fire in your farmhouse high on the moor you’ll feel miles from civilisation, while Chatsworth is just minutes away

A converted 19th-century church in the Northumberland National Park with beautiful stained-glass windows and a restored tower