Dinner fresh from the garden with your creative hosts is an absolute delight. Roam unspoilt countryside, visit châteaux and vineyards galore

A lovely farmhouse in Lot with acres of garden and a summer kitchen. Come ‘en famille’ for food, wine and lazy days by the pool.

This is Somerset at its most quintessential: a thatched roofed, honey-coloured Hamstone cottage with a pretty courtyard garden; sleeps four

Float in the infinity pool above the canyon, dine under the stars, revel in the silence, head to the Cavagrande di Cassibile Nature Reserve

A handsome Georgian townhouse pub in Newbury, with a name steeped in local lore and Donnington Castle just up the road

Towering 5 storeys above lively Palermo, a gracious B&B with sunlit rooms, lovely Sicilian hosts and breakfast in fine china on the terrace

The Dordogne flows through the gastronomic heart of France, where stunning villages cling to rock faces and historic riches are in store

Eschew the crowds for your own slice of bliss in this ancient hamlet with village green - self-catering with a hotel feel and dreamy pool

A destination B&B. Hunker down in thoroughly spoiling surroundings with delightful owners near St Jean de Luz, Biarritz and Bayonne

A rustic and elegant farmhouse retreat in Provence with a pool, vineyards and wildlife-filled pond – a launchpad for the Luberon

A rare treat, 700 metres above sea level and girdled by forests, waterfalls, chestnuts and olives, this is the place to come for solace

An achingly elegant boutique hotel set in Mallorca's olives and orchards: candlelit organic dinners, infinity pool, a smart little bar...

Filled with interesting finds, antiques and artefacts, this is a charming cabin hideaway for couples on the banks of the Kingsbridge Ria

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

An 18th-century fisherman's cottage with garden at the end of a cobbled row, for happy seaside holidays with superb beaches nearby

A dramatic transformation of an old shepherd's cottage deep on a remote hillside in Perthshire farmland with masses of space and light

Loved by estate-workers, visitors, well-heeled locals, and walkers, this spruced-up pub is a friendly launchpad for Chatsworth

Historic old house in a beautiful, traditional village. Boulangerie, bar, crêperie all a stroll away