A delightful harled stone and wood house yards from the sea with glorious hills behind, for walkers, dreamers, nature lovers and adventurers

A beautifully renovated lighthouse with stunning views from the lantern room. Pretty bedrooms, great walking and fabulous breakfasts

Gather the clans and just come. It's lovely here among acres of wildlife-filled grounds – a Sawday's Community Champion

Elegant, calm, charming B&B in a 12th-century house surrounded by fields, quiet country roads and vibrant little villages

By a bubbling brook in the Mendips, close to Bath and Bristol, a wonderfully revived and welcoming inn with smart rooms and scrumptious food

Very relaxed B&B at this 17th-century country house just 5 minutes from the perched village of St-Paul-de-Vence and 10 from the sea

Fall in love with this riverside village, lost in a valley in lower Normandy, and this sunny house for couples or families

Ease yourself into a rather more gracious lifestyle from this sweet retreat on a historic estate with gorgeous walled gardens

Come for dreamy river views, a lovely garden and this bolthole for two, beautifully renovated inside and out and with a private hot tub

Classic coaching inn in a bustling village offers restful rooms, real ales and the Cotswolds on your doorstep

A much-loved Tuscan villa restored to elegance: dinner on the terrace, frescoes, rose garden, a small spa…and Florence a 20-minute drive

Colourful coastal apartments and studios where you can be nicely independent, and enjoy a communal café and health club with Art Deco pool

Gite retreats in château grounds - welcoming and wonderful for young families. Build castles in the sandpit, make friends around the pool

What a surprise to find a masseria in the heart of a Puglian village. Welcome to Anna’s elegant agriturismo

For escapists, wannabe writers and lovers of rural bliss: two boho hideaways for two (four at a squeeze) in this lush corner of Galicia

A converted coach house and stables, now one long cottage with much space, a country house feel and your own walled garden

Light-filled retreat full of character and vintage finds, with handmade touches and farm-fresh produce on your doorstep

Serious art, lovely lighting, great sound system and a fat wood-burner belting out the heat at this super place for families or friends