2 lakes, streams, landscaped gardens, woodlands and waterfalls... a paradise for families, nature lovers, peace-seekers and birdwatchers

Three airy gîtes set in 300 acres of vineyard and gardens. A welcoming base for exploring the marvellous Minervois – 15km from Carcassonne

You’re in Snowdonia National Park: cycle, hike, swim, climb & trampoline to your heart’s content. Come home to comfort, warmth, grand views

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

An award-winning dog-friendly pub with rooms. Find happy staff, delicious well-sourced food and comfy rooms – great for walkers

In pretty Vernon, a peaceful and comfortably large townhouse with roses rambling around the door

A delightful home-from-home village house with large gardens and walks from the door – perfect for families

A delightful eyrie surrounded by water, forest, wildflowers in spring and summer, views to distant islands - just a short stroll to Ullapool

Come for the gloriously peaceful countryside and this 1700s house and garden, scrupulously renovated and with plenty of space

Beautifully designed timber cabins in the Black Mountains, right next to a lovely old inn serving good, honest food from their own farm

An elegant Burgundian townhouse with pool on the fringe of Morvan National Park in Côte d'Or. Dijon, with Beaune and Chablis an easy drive

Former blacksmith’s workshop in a chocolate-box corner of the New Forest, where clematis climbs the trellis and all you hear are the birds

Restored stone barn in 22 acres filled with special wildlife, on the edge of Radnor Forest, with walking trails, glorious countryside views

If you need a great place in which to relax and don’t want to pay too much for it, try these excellent suites, which spoil you all the way

A 1750 one-storey former farm building, beautifully converted into a lovely hideaway for walkers, nature lovers and peace seekers

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

An ancient thatched cottage near Dartmoor with a warming log fire in winter and flowers inside and out in the summer

A beautifully restored listed barn of Westmorland stone sitting in a conservation area village in spectacular walking country, near Appleby