Great for comfort, beauty, character and home baking. Borrow vintage bikes to explore Cambridge: Christine knows it inside out

A thoughtful cottage, full of warmth and cheer with lovely art and delicious pops of colour. Come for beautiful walks and much wildlife

Tiny, suite-in-the-sky, in shabby-chic style, with all you need cleverly tucked into one room. Plus heavenly terrace with city-wide views

A cleverly planned 2020 large family home with all the bells and whistles for superb holidays – swimming pool, gym, barbecue and garden

Glorious views of Derwentwater and Skiddaw from this comfortable house. Art dotted about, a big table for chatty meals and a pretty garden

The Gautiers have the finest sense of how to treat guests: dreamy bedrooms, fantastic food & the pool beneath the orange trees is a delight

A glorious château near Tours – authentic, huge fun, steeped in family history and surrounded by gorgeous gardens with a serene pool

Peaceful Georgian house with beautifully proportioned rooms, sumptuous meals, swimming and tennis. Dartmoor is on the doorstep

Rural bliss at the end of the lane: a cottage for 2 with wine and local biscuits in the hamper and farmers’ markets within a 5-mile drive

A romantic little bolthole with a hot tub on the Penicuik Estate with well-thought-out interiors and dreamy views over pastures and woodland

Restored 18th-century farm building surrounded by countryside, with a good pub a short walk away and Lake Windermere a ten-minute drive

Award-winning Aga-cooked breakfasts, scented candles, gorgeous beds... Come for a break from clock-watching and a spot of Shropshire air

Just below the Tuscan town of Massa Marittima, an agriturismo loved by sporty types and families, with wonderful food on site

Comfortable redbrick cottage with views on the Heydon Hall estate. It’s delightfully rural, yet close to Reepham for pubs and shops

A charming renovated stone gîte only 15km from Bergerac with a large outdoor pool, pretty gardens and walks and cycle rides from the door

Hike the Wild Boar Fells, get cosy at home with books, games and DVDs, and meet the farm’s hens, cows and sheep