A well-equipped cottage with a big beautiful garden and murmuring brook. Come for peace, wildlife, a welcome cocktail, and grand walking

Converted stables on a fruitful and beautiful estate with gardens, sculpture walks, wildflower meadows and a farm-to-fork restaurant

Wrapped in fields and woods, this big traditional house has crisply furnished interiors and plenty of gadgets. Terraced gardens and pool too

An old sporting lodge in Argyll renovated with sensitivity – fish in the river, gaze at the night skies, climb Ben Udlaidh

Come for a sense of complete peace surrounded by country and coast with wonderful interiors to boot – a bolthole for two (plus two)

It's quiet among the lavender plants... bees humming, sun shining. Splash in the shared pool, visit lovely villages, taste local wines

A marvellous spot overlooking Rutland Water for this 1760 former hunting lodge with good seasonal British food and very comfortable bedrooms

A countryside escape for 2 near Chepstow with traditional interiors and cheery wood-burner. Not suitable for children but dogs very welcome

Pomegranates, persimmon and figs, the waft of rosemary on the air... we love this old 'mas' 25km from Gordes, in sweet sunny Provence

A converted 19th-century church in the Northumberland National Park with beautiful stained-glass windows and a restored tower

Traditional house with a contemporary and imaginative interior; stroll to shops and restaurants, jump in the car to explore Provence

Come for summer breakfasts of pastries fresh from the local bakery, afternoons reading by the pool and long, lazy lunches

Gracious hosts, a mix of 17th-century style and contemporary design with comfort in spades, just minutes from the Rialto Bridge and market

There's a lovely relaxed feel to this rather grand house, garden, ponds and orangery. Ashley and Amanda are easy-going hosts

Rural peace just an hour from London in your own gorgeous converted hay barn, ten minutes from Alton

Comfortable apartment steeped in Breton history, in a beautifully renovated gabarier’s house overlooking the marine estuary

A traditional stone bergerie high on a hill and surrounded by woods with east-facing views over the valley for stunning sunrises

A 19th-century bothy in remote, rugged countryside on the edge of the Cairngorms, for walkers, birders and seekers of peace