Close to Hexham's centre, a quietly charismatic Victorian home with fresh flowers, homemade bread, sunny courtyard and a friendly little dog

Lovely owners have created this quirky space on their farm; side-by-side al fresco baths make it romantic for two

Birders will love escaping up here, golfers too - visit Hatfield House, Knebworth, Cambridge - come back to a good local pub and a comfy bed

Take breakfast on the terrace, splash in the fabulous pool. A secluded, friendly, immaculate villa close to golf and surfing beaches

A 18th-century house with pool in a small town with friendly owners and a tropical garden of banana, fig and, of course, frangipani

A Victorian farm steading cleverly repurposed as an open-plan holiday home with bright, colourful interiors, deep in the Perthshire hills

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

Beautiful light-filled eco-homes in Loch Lomond National Park – Scotland’s treasures are easily reached from here

Converted stables in the grounds of a manor house in a peaceful village just outside Banbury with lovely walking in the Cherwell Valley

A trulli hamlet immersed in nature, on the wilder side of Puglia with visits to white-washed hilltop towns and cooking with Nonna Maria

A hop to Montpellier, but deep in the countryside: a romantic pad, with Moroccan rugs, ochre-limed walls and bikes to ride into the country

5 minutes from the Vatican in a tall palazzo above the British school. Owners share local tips, serve bakery-fresh breakfasts on the terrace

Three luxurious apartments sleeping up to 10 people altogether, set within an elegant Georgian manor house in the Wye Valley AONB

Old wooden sleigh beds, check-clothed tables, log fires, a courtyard of centuries-old trees, a claw foot bath. Stacks of character

A rural idyll with a hot tub under starlit skies and surrounded by gorgeous countryside in the South Lakes within a hop of vibrant Cartmel

Artists, poets, nature lovers, walkers and dreamers will be happy in this simple, airy suite surrounded by a fecund garden and much peace

Escape to this contemporary barn on a friendly farmstead with fern-fringed cliffs and walks galore on your door. Ask about ferry discounts

Slow down! Swim, soak in the jacuzzi, taste Campanian cuisine and wine, explore the national park, pop to Agropoli's beaches... be pampered