Come to be looked after very well in this meticulously renovated old farmhouse with elegant bedrooms, tasty breakfasts and a kind host

Dine wonderfully on farm-fresh food and grandma's recipes; cookery classes too! And views, a pool, farm animals, sunsets, a warm family...

Refined palazzo with a rooftop terrace near the historic centre of Ostuni. The Valle d’Itria region and the coast is on your doorstep

Come for fine food and drink, sumptuous bedrooms and a relaxed, informal atmosphere at this gorgeous Cotswold manor house with ancient roots

Come here in the summer (it’s closed Nov-April except by arrangement) for candlelit dining, chintzy bedrooms, long views over the park...

A striking 200-year-old coaching inn in a sleepy village with a classic, traditional pub feel, superb food and wines, pretty bedrooms

A grand dining hall and super kitchen, perfect for big gatherings. Spot spoonbills on the salt marsh, sea swim or walk to delis and pubs

Perched on a hilltop in a nature reserve, two lovely places to stay. Hike and beach-hop all day before relaxing in the pool

A lovely big house with huge riverside gardens and an easy-going charm – a 15-minute walk from bookish Hay-on-Wye

A rather grand, opulent house with warm owners, interesting furniture and art and some fine Renaissance architectural elements intact

This famous old country house might not come cheap, but where else can you splash out in such decadent style for life’s big celebrations?

Your own cottage on a wine estate in a very beautiful part of the South Downs, famed for world-class sparkling wines

Well-positioned winery for the whole of the Bordeaux region. Or stay put and learn about the Duhamels’ super organic Cotes de Bourg wines

A hammock by the pool, dinner under the stars, Andalucian nature (wild boar, birds, olives) all around. Chatty English hosts charm all

Ensconce yourselves in the Black Périgord and stay in the East Wing of a 16th-century castle with private garden and surrounding parkland

A dog-friendly cottage in a tranquil village, formerly the bakery, now restored to perfection with oodles of space and much comfort

Treat yourselves to a stay in the gloriously comfortable Astor Wing with private terrace and views to Hever Castle and the Tudor Garden

A pretty cottage in the grounds of an 18th-century house in the heart of southern Burgundy, with stunning gardens and a shared pool