Go with the slow - homemade delights, no plastic anything, few mod cons - just relaxed humorous hosts and a beautiful place

Next to a glorious National Trust estate, an exceptional barn renovation, a honeymooners’ dream – and Marsden a stroll downhill

Stay in a celebrated French author’s holiday home, beautifully restored and tucked among pines next to one of Brittany's loveliest bays

Visit Florence, Arezzo, Siena… or revel in the beauty and peace of Casa Zia, surrounded by wilderness and lovely birdsong

Come for big, peaceful bedrooms with views, delicious home cooked breakfasts and riverside strolls through ancient beech woodland

Two lovely cottages with a fresh, modern style, private terrace, tranquil communal gardens with an orchard and pool

Ease into a slower way of life from this beautiful Tuscan farmhouse surrounded by vineyards in the valley below medieval Montepulciano

For families who love a Great British beach holiday, this beach-side cottage on Hayling Island near Portsmouth is just the ticket

A serene restaurant-hotel on Chesil beach, with a perfect view of the big blue sea. How restorative can a hotel be?

A privilege to be able to stay within the famous gardens of magnificent Château de Courances. The painter's village of Barbizon is nearby

A rustic haven in Vouvray wine country: bask on sun beds near the elegant pool, cosy up to the wood-burner, relax in your beautiful bedroom

Great gulps of ozone will engulf you at this architect-designed 1960s beach house - light, bright and sparkling, just like the ocean

An entire literary estate on the Brittany coast, with a trio of restored houses, fabulous gardens and a private path to the beach

Your host runs home and B&B with effortless efficiency and you'll find shiny, spotless rooms to retreat to after a day's exploring

A converted 18th-century chapel in the heart of Bruton with an all-day restaurant, in-house bakery, wine store and south-facing terrace

A spoiling hotel for a properly grown up escape on the Chatsworth Estate. Bring your loved one and do as much or as little as you fancy

A peaceful retreat in an unspoilt woody corner of Sussex. Bring dogs and children for fabulous walking on the South Downs Way

A period manor and pretty rooms in old stables: a quiet base for Pas-de-Calais and Picardie. Madame loves the house, animals, story-telling