Breakfasts with sausages from home-reared rare breed pigs, a big log fire and relaxed friendly hosts. Acres of garden and woodland paths

The Test valley is a place of pilgrimage for fly fishermen, but this lovely country inn welcomes all with great food and lovely bedrooms

Traditional and modern, verging on the opulent. Find a stone-flagged tap room for walkers, top modern food and Chatsworth-perfect bedrooms

Sweet Grade II listed fisherman's terrace cottage for 4 (+ 1) close to the centre of bustling St Ives; a place to escape to year-round

An airy, well-designed hideaway for two in an ancient barn on a quiet farm. This is prime walking country with Hadrian’s Wall nearby.

A big old house with a lovely pool, surrounded by ancient olives just 3kms from the sea and deep in the heart of Bandol wine country

Romantic, secluded cottage with far-reaching views across the river Conwy and the Snowdonia mountains and miles of trails to explore

For walkers, bikers, WWI historians, mushroom hunters, lovers of fine breakfasts and warm, quirkily characterful surroundings

A chilled, family-friendly hotel on a sandy surfing beach with huge views and a sensational pool with sustainability at its heart

Historic old house in a beautiful, traditional village. Boulangerie, bar, crêperie all a stroll away

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

Come for cracking Sunday roasts and country walks from the door at this revamped 16th-century inn on the fringe of the Cotswolds

Gloriously green rural self-catering apartments with pool and lovely, friendly owners

A renovated barn, part stone, part wood, resembling the tobacco barns of the area with beautiful grounds surrounded by farmland

Rustic, quirky and layered with history, this is an exquisite slice of traditional Sicilian life, with welcoming and generous hosts

In a hamlet in the Loire countryside is a friendly estate with a family-sized gite, a shared saltwater pool and heaps of old-world charm

A proper old-fashioned inn dating from the 1600s with beamed ceilings, low doorways and winding staircases up to comfortable bedrooms

Log fires smoulder, rooms are comfortable, the food is delicious and there's bags of character at this old village pub – once a cider house