Most people’s idea of packing for a summer holiday in Europe involves chucking swimwear, shorts and plenty of sun cream into a case. When she visits her holiday home in France Lebby Eyres does all that – but she adds waterproofs and walking boots too. Lebby, 53, and her husband Fred Guetin, 48, bought their 1780s stone house in the village of Orgelet, close to the border of France and Switzerland, back in 2011 as a family base close to Fred’s parents, who live in Burgundy. The temperature in Orgelet, 85 miles north of Lyon, reaches a comfortable average 24C in high summer while hotspots like St Tropez are sizzling at an average 29C. “I really love the fact that it has four proper seasons,” said Lebby. Traditionally when Brits buy an overseas property guaranteed sunshine is top of their wish list. But global warming is starting to make life in many southern European hotspots uncomfortable, what with water supplies being turned off overnight in golfer’s paradise Sotogrande, Spain, because of water shortages, spring and summer wildfires in France and Spain, and flooding in Venice, Italy. The realities of climate change mean smart second home buyers with an eye to the...