Independence at one end of the house with your own sitting room opening onto a courtyard garden. Good pub for food a few minutes' walk away

Swim with frogs in the freshwater pool, breakfast in the sunshine, play boules by moonlight. Châteaux don't get much more rural

For walkers, bikers, WWI historians, mushroom hunters, lovers of fine breakfasts and warm, quirkily characterful surroundings

Traditional accommodation and organic food; handy for Bari but set peacefully in the countryside near Toritto, famed for its almonds

The sort of place where you arrive and never want to leave – atmosphere, nature, character and comfort in a magical timeless valley

A fin-de-siècle Franco-Scottish décor for this hospitable, entertaining B&B, in the heart of Edinburgh’s cultural quarter

A small, family-run boutique hotel sitting right at the foot of Etna with wonderful views, garden, pool and ambrosial Sicilian breakfasts

This stately-looking former manor house set back from the road in acres of gardens serves very good food and has rustic-chic bedrooms

Atmospheric manor with heaps of history, sumptuous bedrooms, a cornucopia of quirky finds, an open-hearted host – it’s a treat to stay here

Traditional beamed cottage, tucked in the hills, with views to distant beaches plus colourful gardens and a pool

A lovely old stone cottage in a group round a pretty courtyard, with your own private patio and seating area, on the Pink Granite Coast

Stay just minutes from the sea in colourful Donaghadee for wild swims, island visits, bird watching and coastal walks

Welcoming, dog-friendly pub with food to rave about, cracking countryside views and very comfortable bedrooms

A cheery farmhouse conversion for groups outside a village in a non-touristy part of Italy, close to scenic trails and medieval villages

A big old house with a lovely pool, surrounded by ancient olives just 3kms from the sea and deep in the heart of Bandol wine country

An impressive limestone house on three levels created within the ruins of an ancient village with uninterrupted views of the Vézère valley

Refurbished police HQ in the centre of Bristol, minutes from the bus station, shops and pretty harbourside - a Sawday’s Community Champion

Return to warming fires after hiking in Ireland's highest mountains. Two traditional cottages on the outskirts of pretty Killorglin