Birders will love escaping up here, golfers too - visit Hatfield House, Knebworth, Cambridge - come back to a good local pub and a comfy bed

A romantic creekside cottage down a web of narrow lanes in a tumbling green valley – mess about on the water to your heart’s content

Come for the gorgeous, wild North York Moors and this very pretty 1911 stone cottage in the grounds of an elegant manor house

A fortified castle in parkland, built mostly in the 1300s on the Montbazens plateau, near to the stunning Averyon gorges

Surrounded by wildlife and water, this ultra-modern house has huge windows, white walls and designer furnishings. Blissfully remote

In a commanding position surrounded by private land, this old manor house is excellently equipped and ideal for a big family holiday

Come for dreamy river views, a lovely garden and this bolthole for two, beautifully renovated inside and out and with a private hot tub

Heaps to do on-site: organic farm shop & café, cookery & cheese-making courses, farm tours. A brilliant base for exploring the Cotswolds too

Explore country markets, churches and châteaux - return to a gite in private parkland with an artist's studio on site, and a blissful pool

You're right on the water in this 1820 granary-turned-hotel, with calming bedrooms, bustling bar and restaurant serving excellent local fare

An award-winning dog-friendly pub with rooms. Find happy staff, delicious well-sourced food and comfy rooms – great for walkers

Comfortable apartment steeped in Breton history, in a beautifully renovated gabarier’s house overlooking the marine estuary

A comfy cottage for two in the quiet, leafy outskirts of Aix with easy access to the city and a kind, attentive owner nearby

Remote barn in the middle of Northumberland National Park with views for miles, wonderful walking trails and clear starry skies

An unbeatable position on Rutland Water, a Michelin star in the restaurant, a roaring fire in the bar and a swimming pool in the garden

Georgian country house with rustic charm and a home-from-home feel. In the heart of Wiltshire just outside historic town Bradford-on-Avon

An L-shaped former farmhouse is now a gorgeous place to stay, just half an hour from the sea or the mountains and near interesting villages

Rooms in the house overlook the vineyard, the lodges are surrounded by it - check out the vines, then drink their wine with a good dinner