Sitting at the end of the estate's private driveway, this sandstone building has grand Italianate columns and comfortable interiors

Independence at one end of the house with your own sitting room opening onto a courtyard garden. Good pub for food a few minutes' walk away

Superbly comfortable house with beamed rooms, lovely views, club-like morning room, antiques, terrace, pool, fitness centre and lily pond

A deceptively roomy 300-year-old stone cottage, with front-facing windows overlooking the harbour - just a short walk up to town

A handsome château filled with intrigue and interest on the edge of a Bastide town in Landes. Your charming host looks after you with aplomb

Flop in a hammock and be lulled by Mediterranean scents and breezes, relax in an ancient trullo - come here for raw beauty and long views

A 13th-century mill with immaculate interiors and a whiff of luxury. Look out to the river, birds, tall trees, and Pézenas up the hill

Bright and spacious barn for two and a baby on the South Downs Way, close to Brighton and the coast

A botanical beauty deep in the Loire Valley, this elegant house has history and heart in abundance

A relaxed hilltop escape with good food, a pretty garden and fine views of the Dales and the river Wharfe – bring your dog too

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

A home filled with beautiful things, effortlessly combining history and comfort, in a charming village in the Friulian Prealps foothills

A delightful holiday home for a big family or group of close friends. Children and dogs can charge about safely, you can unwind completely

Ease yourself into a rather more gracious lifestyle from this sweet retreat on a historic estate with gorgeous walled gardens

Great taste – in decor and food – and a delicious heated pool. Views swoop over field and valley; trails, villages, wineries tempt

An elegant hotel with wellness area, gym, gourmet restaurant, bar, bistro and 15 contemporary bedrooms decorated with Sicilian flair

A medieval monastery, stunningly revived, in untouristy, car-free Pisciotta. Sip greco on the terrace; scramble through olives to the sea

An 18th-century coaching inn right in the heart of an old Welsh drovers' town, with award-winning food and the Brecon Beacons rising behind