0 comments    Italy

St Loy Tea Room

This is such a treat, we're loathe to tell you about it. Hidden in an untypically lush, fern-rich Cornish valley, this little house's terrace overlooks manicured gardens that spill down to the Cornish sea lapping at the bottom of the garden. The clotted cream tea is the finest you can get (Cornish tea from a local plantation, cream from the Lizard, jam from nearby).

0 comments    Italy

Porthchapel Beach

A stunning little hidden beach beneath imposing granite cliffs. A steep climb down means it's spared the crowds.

0 comments    Nottingham, United Kingdom

Douglas’s Barn, Ashbourne

The village is peaceful and pretty and refreshingly untouched by traffic and tourists. And the barns are well-designed and well-loved, by owners who genuinely enjoy looking after their guests. Douglas’s barn is the more contemporary of the two but still has that country feel, along with some intriguingly quirky angles (John and Marion will tell you the history). The sitting/dining room’s Farrow & Ball ‘matchstick’ walls are enlivened with paintings and prints by local artists and friends, the comfy leather sofa spilling cushions pulls up to a snazzy log-effect fire and a flat-screen TV, and the glass-topped table carries the Radio Times. The kitchen has a similarly modern feel, with its olive wooden units, stainless steel fridge, top of the range cooker, round white dining table and perspex chairs. Then it’s up the spiral iron staircase to bed – king-size with a quilted throw in a big, bright room lined with African art. The bathroom is white with a whirlpool bath – oh luxury! Outside is a small, sunny seating area with elevated views – great for a barbecue on a balmy evening. Be spoiled by a cosy barn in a wonderful position and the kindest hosts.

0 comments    Nottingham, United Kingdom

Tom’s Barn, Ashbourne

You are up high here, with stunning views over Parwich village and beyond. It’s a delight to arrive at these freshly restored barns, to be greeted by Marion’s warm smile and homemade cake. The farm was one of the earliest dwellings in the village and the barns added later, to house the cattle. Tom’s Barn is the older of the two. Through the stable door you enter an open-plan living area with exposed beams and rafters and quarry-tiled floor softened by a large Indian-style rug. Cream walls, pine shutters, yellow sofa, vibrant art and woodburner – warm and inviting. The galleried bedroom above, with low roof truss, is reached via open-tread wooden stairs, its south-facing window flooding the space with light. The bathroom has a spa bath for two and generous towels. Back downstairs is the kitchen, cleverly lit and beautifully stocked. Eat here or outside; a small seated area in the veg garden-with-views is being landscaped with willow for privacy. As for walks, you’re spoiled for choice with many criss-crossing the village and the best pub in Derbyshire an hour’s stride away. Return to the homely luxuries of a boot rack and boot warmer - John and Marion have thought of everything.

0 comments    Manchester, United Kingdom

Hope Farm House, Ashbourne

A big, beautifully restored farmhouse on the edge of an award-winning village in the Peak District National Park. What more could one ask... a large garden and a wildflower orchard full of rabbits? A snooker table in the barn? A sumptuous, eclectic and immaculately kept décor with Farrow and Ball hues? Here you have it all and it s a great place for a family gathering: eight in here and two in the barn. The owners never let their two properties to different parties, so you will always be assured of your privacy. The house was built in the 1720s and keeps many of its features, starting in the flagged scullery with its range, wash copper and salting thrawl. Part of the house has two storeys, the other three, each part with a staircase (one narrow and winding) leading off the hall; every corner feels loved. In the main sitting room are comfy sofas, fine engravings, an Indian chest, a Persian rug, a log stove, a Bose radio, chess; for cosy TV there s the attic den. The flagstoned dining room has an oak table that seats 12, the farmhouse kitchen is dominated by a white Lacanche range, and the bedrooms, some in the attic, are as fresh and warm as all the rest, and two have antique French or English beds. There s a conservatory too - lovely for sunny breakfasts. All this and Alstonefield village, with pub, a ten-minute stroll. Fabulous. The Barn next door sleeps two and can be let with the Farm House.

0 comments    Exeter, United Kingdom

End Cottage, Totnes

The owner, Penny, spends as much time here as she can, so the house has personality - and has been spoiled. Beyond the very pretty front garden (Penny is a garden designer), the house, last in a terrace of three, faces south across a little valley that descends to the village: green fields, a touch of farmer's clutter and a ruined abbey. An attractive feature is the oak veranda roof, leaded and handsome - transforming the outside to a space you want to sit in. Behind the cottage is the sort of field (brimming with butterflies in the summer) that makes you reach for your picnic kit. Inside light pours into every room; curtains are ceiling-to-floor, even when the windows are not, and the beds have beautiful linen. Bathrooms are generous and up-to-date, the sitting room big yet cosy, with red sofas, log stove, books, games and a warm heart. The charming farmhouse kitchen is another place you want to spend time in, with ample sunlight and enough hints of Penny's presence to make you feel you are staying with friends. Step out to the pretty village of Cornworthy with its award-winning pub, or try one of the circular walks from the door. Perfect.

0 comments    United Kingdom

The Workshop, Framlingham

We arrived late, to find the fire lit and the night lights twinkling. A hundred yards up a quiet country lane, this Victorian outbuilding has been converted into a calming, charming, uncluttered space and a sophisticated escape for two. The owners have been meticulous in their restoration, blending old with stunning modern. The open living area has sweeping limed-pine floors, a big corner sofa, a TV built into the wall, a white Arne Jacobson dining table and chairs (iconic 1950s), a spherical steel fireplace suspended above a slate hearth and glass doors that glide open to a decked, sun-trap terrace and a buttercup meadow. More perfection in the kitchen: sleek grey units beneath a pale stone worktop, a Smeg cooker, stainless steel pans, white china. A curving wall leads to the bedroom, whose walls, Roman blind and bed are a symphony of white, taupe and grey. The uber-chic bathroom (bath and circular shower) reveals lotions and potions from the White Company and plump white towels. Alex and Naomi, who live next door, encourage wildlife to their gardens; paths are cut through the meadow in high summer and bee orchids hide away in the long grass. Good shops selling organic and local delicacies are close by, the Heritage Coast is a 15-minute drive and the Visitors’ Book is showered with praise.

0 comments    Bristol, United Kingdom

The Orangery, Frampton-on-Severn

It has been described as “the prettiest garden building in England” - a breathtaking property, ‘Strawberry Gothic’ in style, its rooms elegantly octagonal, its windows flamboyantly arched. The upstairs rooms were used in the 18th- and 19th-centuries for the ladies to have tea, survey The Park and paint. Now the hexagonal panes, the limestone walls, the stone floors and the gently spiralling central staircase have been beautifully restored. You enter through the porch, past walking sticks and brollies, into the long, narrow, perfectly equipped kitchen with a table for four at one end; the real dining takes place in a room with an ornate fireplace and views of the serene Dutch ornamental canal. The sitting room is large and octagonal with a delicate mural on the walls, lemon-yellow sofas to curl up on, logs for the fire, more fabulous light-filled windows, and more pastoral views. Bedrooms, two up, two down, are furnished with family antiques, soft carpets and flowery chintz; when the sun shines, shadows dance on the walls. The Orangery stands on the edge of a wide village green; two pubs, a small shop, restaurant and summer country fair are on the doorstep, Bristol and South Wales are an easy drive.

0 comments    United Kingdom

Barholm Castle, Gatehouse of Fleet

Your chance to live in a castle - one that has been restored with respect and decorated with élan. Follow the road ever westwards, then wind up the rough track past trees, stabled collies and the Solway Firth - to the creamy white castle standing tall in its three acres. Inside is the Great Hall, your sitting room, a magnificent space; recline on the sofa before the huge fireplace and gaze up at the vivid hand-painted ceiling. Windows in every wall give all-round views, a huge rug and underfoot heating keep the room cosy and alcoves have cushioned seats, perfect for snuggling in with a book. Descend to the well-lit, vaulted kitchen, a fun place to gather and eat, and ascend the spiral stone stair to bed. The master bedroom is striking with its beamed ceiling and huge four-poster with rich red and yellow satin covers; its bathroom - huge - with roll-top bath and chaise longue, is fabulous. Climb on up to the twin, bathed in light from the velux window, past another fabulous four-poster with more views, and up again to the single where John Knox is rumoured to have slept. The Caphouse, at the top of your castle, leads out to the windswept parapet from where, triumphant, you can survey the land, all yours - at least for a week.

0 comments    United Kingdom

Ann’s Hill, Cockermouth, CA13 0NY

You could yomp up the Fells or walk the acres of farmland that surround you – but most who come, come to be pampered. Next to the farmhouse, home to the delightful Steels, is this listed dower house - perfectly renovated and sumptuously decorated by Vanessa. There’s a wonderful flowing feel inside, solid wood and stone combining with rich fabrics and swish fittings. Step into the main sitting room, uncluttered, elegant and comfortable, where seagrass matting gives warmth to the stone floor, a black leather sofa and armchairs front the cosy woodburner and a cabinet stylishly conceals the TV. Then through to the kitchen, white, light and beautifully equipped, with a welcome hamper and a bottle of champagne... and up the atmospheric, spiral stone stair to the bedroom, another treat. Large and light, its huge canopied bed is covered in gold and black satin fringed with black crystals, its ceiling hung with a twinkling chandelier. And the bathroom, Ruby-rich walls and a Victoria and Albert slipper bath centre stage, a gleaming corner shower, curtains that swoon to the floor, oodles of white towels - passions will be rekindled here! May the sun shine the next morning for breakfast al fresco.