Like staying in a family home, only with Henri III furniture and rolling green views. Energetic hosts cook, farm, hunt, chat over champagne

A smartly refurbished 500-year-old coaching inn with very comfortable bedrooms, good food and the Peak District at your feet

A very swish 1610 house, thoroughly refurbished, in the heart of old Chichester with oodles of space and a surprisingly large garden

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

A sculptor's studio, flooded with light, converted into a restful holiday home surrounded by glorious countryside, near Totnes

A tempting trio of retreats with unlimited access to exceptional gardens, and a welcome homemade cream tea. Come as a pair, or a small group

Everything you need is here: a wood-burner for winter, a pool and spacious terraces for summer, and peace and beauty all year round

A large and light house sitting by itself in lovely countryside with a big pool, maturing gardens and superb views up to Saignon on the hill

Enjoy warmth, comfort and some jolly good food at this family-run village inn with inviting bedrooms – a haven for weary walkers

Cast yourselves away to this beautiful island and a bright, spacious apartment with a rooftop terrace bang in the middle of the town square

A niftily converted barn with high vaulted ceiling sitting on a hill with wonderful views over a newly-created lake and the Stour Valley

A serene retreat basking above the Algarve with sea views from the garden and pool, and charming Moorish details

Your own cosy apartment in the once arty, now classy Latin Quarter. An elegant, romantic and peaceful bolthole for 2

A small and stylish townhouse retreat in leafy Folkestone with excellent bedrooms and a terrace for breakfast in summer

Elegant Italian style in a sensitively-restored villa with sweeping views over rolling hills and forests

This fine old Dordogne house is run by well-travelled owners, has superb views and is a luscious mix of old charm and contemporary design

You’ll feel nicely independent in this spacious open-plan hideaway surrounded by colourful gardens and Corscombe valley views

5 houses near Siena to make design-lovers happy; come for the rural solitude of ancient stone farm buildings with urban interiors