A hilltop setting for this ancient fortress with an illustrious past. You stay in apartments or farmhouses inside or outside the walls

Your hosts couldn’t be nicer and look after you beautifully – this is a lovely, homely place with a rambling garden

Welcome to an immaculate and historic retreat with private gardens, ten minutes from the Finistère coast (and oysters!)

An ancient thatched cottage near Dartmoor with a warming log fire in winter and flowers inside and out in the summer

An historic, moated manor house dating from the 16th-century, fully restored and with all mod cons, including an indoor heated pool

Wooded, lakeside retreat for 1 or 2 – big windows, huge terrace, wood-burner, wide screen. The Jurassic coast a cross-country walk away

A beautiful cream stone building in the grounds of a grand château, with a large and view-filled outdoor terrace for peaceful dawdling

Gently undulating countryside surrounds you at this Burgundy B&B with fresh, modern bedrooms and delicious dinners prepared by the owner

Easy-going, stylish rooms, a lovely, relaxing garden with natural pool - 1hr north of Lisbon and close to some of the world’s best beaches

A destination for epicurians who also want exquisite surroundings and comfortable bedrooms. A charming garden too with a very French feel

Pristine and elegant rural farmhouse with sophisticated interiors and lovely owners who go the extra mile to make your stay special

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

Soak up Provençal peace in a charming estate in the Alpilles, with stylish ground-floor B&B rooms, olives, vines and a friendly family dog

A sustainably-designed small, family-run eco hotel within a nature park by the sea in stunning Basque country. Great food too

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

A romantic and very comfortable retreat in a smartly converted dairy with a pretty garden, close to the South Downs

Surround yourselves with incredible artwork from established and emerging artists at this cottage - a Sawday's Community Champion

Beauty, charm and tranquillity an hour from Florence, on a bio-sensitive farm known for Chianina cattle and white truffles