"No visit to Chatsworth is complete without a swim in the River Derwent. Wander downstream from the main bridge to make sure you're away from the prying eyes of visitors, then it**'** s an easy stroll down the grass bank into the river. Or, if you feel like making more of a splash, jump in via one of the tree swings."

"Surrounded by bracken and pink-tinged waterfalls, and with an underwater arch to swim through, the Fairy Pools really are true to their name. Wriggle into your prettiest swimsuit and pretend you are some sort of water nymph. Be warned - the temperature might ruin the magic, but you'll warm up in no time."

"You have to be here to get the mystery, drama and the magic of the place – photography strangely cannot do the place justice. When the 170-year old Lady Glenorchy Church was converted into The Glasshouse Hotel, the group YTL Hotels transformed it into a stylish comfort zone: magic beds, down duvets and reassuring service. It’s all about the location: you can see Calton Hill and the entire glittering Edinburgh skyline below from most of the rooms – and that’s not to mention the astounding views from the sprawling two-acre rooftop garden. With the Edinburgh Fringe Festival scheduled to be taking place from 6-30 August, expect the Glasshouse to be humming with the great and good of the theatre world."

"Prince Charles spent much of his childhood at the Queen Mother’s Castle of Mey. No wonder then that His Royal Highness was keen to share the area’s wild magic, opening this charming B&B last year. It is housed in a renovated 17th-century granary, with ten elegant bedrooms, blazing fires and deliciously comfortable living rooms with sea views. The dining room is enchanting and low key, filled with a collection of antique grandfather clocks – as beautiful as you would expect. But a highlight of a stay here is the unparalleled access to the nearby castle and gardens for after-hours tours or a private dinner party in the royal dining room."

"Kumu Beach is a seafront hotel with soul on the west coast of Sri Lanka, encapsulating the style and spirit of a world that existed before package tourism discovered the Island of Serendipity. The main house sits above a secluded bay, onto which the surf breaks noisily and into which the sun melts every evening. You are but a short stroll away from a turtle-nesting beach and a quick drive from Sri Lanka’s largest reclining Buddha at Galagoda. Without a hint of gimmickry or any sense of trying too hard, Kumu Beach is an ideal place to decompress."

"In remote eastern Nepal, coloured prayer flags flap invitingly over a brightly painted stone house. This was the famous mountaineer Edmund Hillary’s self-proclaimed ‘Happy House’, though it’s recently reverted back to its original owners – descendants of the Sherpa family who migrated from Tibet in 1530. It’s an incredible base from which to explore the wild Solu Khumbu region, which, according to Buddhist belief, is one of the few untainted sacred spots in the world."

"This wonderful 1920s-inspired camp was founded by Calvin Cottar, whose veteran safari-outfitting family arrived in this golden-hued, Out of Africa Maasai Mara hotspot 30 years before Dutch author Karen Blixen. Cottar’s offers a romantic nod to nostalgia without forcing the point: canvas tents are swathed in white cotton, with four-poster beds and gramophones."

"Just two hours east of Lisbon, São Lourenço do Barrocal is a fabulously restored 19th century farmstead hotel in the heart of the golden Alentejo region. For the ultimate Portuguese road trip, start in Lisbon before taking to the meandering rural roads to savour the rolling Alentejo landscape, with its fields studded with cork trees and Neolithic dolmens, olive groves and pampas-style plains. Barrocal is like some sort of a Portuguese Shangri-La with a wonderful farm-to-table restaurant, thriving winery, not to mention excellent horse riding on site, plus plenty of cultural landmarks to take in, including the UNESCO World Heritage town of Evora with its sun-baked Roman temples, cathedrals and churches. And, of course, it's home to the chicest spa: a sophisticated, utterly professional and totally indulgent idyll with the best Susanne Kauffman treatments."

"This intensely romantic gothic hotel in Ballantrae, Ayrshire, was once the family seat of the Earl of Inchcape. Concealed behind wrought iron gates, this hotel remains one of the country’s finest examples of the Scottish Baronial school of architecture: a feast of turrets, battlements and soaring domes. The gardens, meanwhile, are a horticulturist’s dream. Its exotic plants date back to Victorian times, there’s a forest of giant sequoias – even a surprisingly grand oak sprung from a seed originally planted by Charles II at Longleat."

"It’s the Scottish hotel we return to again and again: sophisticated, totally indulgent and unapologetically fun. Aside from the exceptional interiors and endless country pursuits on tap (archery, clay shooting, fishing, falconry), it’s also home to the most sublime MD, Conor O’Leary, who can arrange lavish picnics by the lake, or served from the back of Gleneagles’ fleet of Defenders, or even a full-blown tasting menu cooked in a dreamy mountainside bothy – all the more enjoyable after a good morning’s hike."