One to bookmark
A sign of the times. I-escape.com, the website that specialises in small stylish boltholes anywhere from Amsterdam to Zanzibar, has found a selection closer to home. Its latest collection features 60 "hidden gems" in the UK, from townhouse B&Bs and city apartments to eco retreats. In London, if you don't mind not being in the centre, the Church Street Hotel, nicknamed the Camberwell casita thanks to its Mexican owners and design, has single rooms from £70 and doubles from £90. Many of the properties have special offers, such as Fronlas in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, which is £95 a night B&B but has a 10% discount for stays of three nights or more.
One for the diary
A thousand years after their last assault on York, the Vikings are roaring back into town this month for a rather more good-natured invasion. There won't be any pillaging but there will be more beards, battles and Beowulf than you can shake a battle-axe at.
The Yorvik Viking festival runs over half-term (18-22 February) for five very noisy days of songs, storytelling, falconry and lots of fighting. Turn the kids into little barbarians, with workshops on combat skills and swordsmanship as well as the chance to paddle a coracle. The fighting concludes on the Saturday evening when 200 warriors slug it out in a spectacular battle at the Eye of York.
For details and to book tickets call 01904 615505 or visit jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk. Visit York is offering three nights' B&B for the price of two at a range of guest houses and hotels. Call the visitor information centre, quoting "Stay Longer" on 01904 550099, visityork.org.
One for a quick escape
The Beech House Gîte in Yoxford, Suffolk, clashes 1950s design classics with French gîte leanings; a red-brick exterior with blue window frames leads on to lavender-filled gardens, but inside it's all retro lighting and graphic patterned sofas. The one-bedroom cottage costs from £290 for three nights.
It's one of the stylish self-catering properties offered by Best of Suffolk. Other hits include South Cottages in Thorpeness, a two-bedroom pad near the beach, from £192 for two nights.
01728 638 962, bestofsuffolk.co.uk.
