Vast rooms, thick stone walls and ancient flagged floors skilfully modernised to create comfort, surrounded by romantic château gardens

11 rooms yet huge personality: travel mementoes, bright colours, local breakfasts... in a fun market town under the Cotswold escarpment

A beautifully renovated lighthouse with stunning views from the lantern room. Pretty bedrooms, great walking and fabulous breakfasts

A cool little inn lost in beautiful hills, child- and dog-friendly, with happy staff and award-winning food

A heavenly setting for this very well-hidden cottage with its own small pool, amazing views and delightful pebble beach below

A beautifully restored townhouse in the heart of Amboise, steps from Leonardo da Vinci's last home and the great Château Royal

A lovely, spacious 1830s house in the heart of arty Westport with nearly an acre of garden, an apple orchard and the river running past

A smart riverside inn with airy interiors that brim with character – old beams, open fires, well-kept ales and comfy bedrooms

A cosy and pretty old cottage for rest or romance, with garden and pool in a small hamlet surrounded by walnut orchards and mixed woodland

A lovely big house with huge riverside gardens and an easy-going charm – a 15-minute walk from bookish Hay-on-Wye

Gloriously cool in summer, cosy in winter, a 365-day-a-year retreat. Just a 10-minute promenade along the beach into the fun heart of town

The village is tiny, the bar is lively, the food is delicious. The Cotswolds are at your feet and you’re encouraged not to lift a finger

Once a pub, now a friendly home, with all you need for a market town break. Park the car (or leave at home) – everything is on the doorstep

A trulli hamlet immersed in nature, on the wilder side of Puglia with visits to white-washed hilltop towns and cooking with Nonna Maria

Converted stables in the grounds of a manor house in a peaceful village just outside Banbury with lovely walking in the Cherwell Valley

High in the heavenly hills is this very smartly converted farm building, with underfloor heating, much glass, wood and exposed brickwork