Peaceful Highland hideaway on a wooded lochside: spy dolphins and otters, stargaze, and soak up the deep silence

Old beams and rich history: a dramatic setting for fireside chats, superb breakfasts (home-reared, baked, grown) - and Midsomer Murders

With a sauna in the woods and a Nordic bath by the lake, these carefully renovated farm buildings are a lovely slow-living retreat

An expansive and generous 13th-century Catalan farmhouse, restored with verve and colour in the Pyrenees - a wonderful spot for groups

A snug Snowdonia bolthole arranged around a vast boulder, once home to Victorian artists inspired by the setting. For romantic hikers

In her smart top-floor flat, perfectly situated between Montmartre and the Opéra Garnier, Rosemary does brilliant B&B

Secluded villa with glorious views, infinity pool and lovely gardens, a three-minute walk from one of Italy’s most beautiful villages

Elegant 19th-century château deep in the Dordogne forest promises seclusion, serenity and an unhurried, sun-soaked escape.

Tranquil cottage tucked away on a private estate on the Llyn Peninsula, with walks starting from the door and unspoiled beaches to discover

Up in the hills, with Hay Bluff towering beside, this old stone house is sheltered in the valley with the brook rushing past to a waterfall

Two family-friendly gites with gardens and a big pool, surrounded by corn fields and sunflowers, ideal for a larger family to take together

This friendly, Scottish island B&B has the Atlantic at the end of the garden and air so clean the lichen grows like beards from the trees

Fresh, inviting bedrooms with leafy garden views and a pretty church next door. Moffat's spectacular Grey Mare's Tail waterfall nearby

Gorgeous rooms and splendid breakfasts – for sybarites, history-lovers, cyclists and canoeists - bang in the middle of ancient Long Melford

Straight out of a fairy tale, a rustic cottage by a babbling brook: a magical escape for couples, the craggy coast in easy reach

A lovely wisteria-clad inn in a traditional Cotswold village with grand walks, a pretty garden, tasty food and thoughtful bedrooms

The cottage looks down over Lough Swilly, idyllic for boats and safe swims... and the neighbours are friendly, just sheep and cows

A majestic renovation of a Victorian 'model' farm with underfloor heating, open plan design, light bright lines and not a whiff of IKEA