This large, light, single-level holiday home comes with private access to half a mile of beach and a nod to chic, New England style: there's blue-grey external clapboard, seagrass rugs, concertina glass doors, a kitchen with fishermen's lamps and a storm lantern-decked fireplace above a woodburning stove … Photograph: PR
It's also unusually accessible, with electric profile beds, hoists, ceiling tracking, wide doorways and a wheelchair-adapted kitchen.
• 0845 605 0371, bemptonholidayvilla.co.uk. Sleeps 7, from £579 a week
Accessible, pets allowed Photograph: PR
Tired of safe greige interiors? This three-bedroom cottage on the far eastern edge of the moors offers a technicolour alternative. The living room is painted saffron, the kitchen in splashes of moss, the dining room is scarlet and the bathroom's tongue-and-groove panelling is duck-egg blue … Photograph: PR
The fittings and furnishings are equally unique, with original artwork and a custom-designed kitchen.
• 0844 736 6276, gorgeouscottages.com. Sleeps 6, from £620 a week Photograph: PR
This converted lighthouse outside Whitby has been refurbished in smart neutral colours. Inside it ticks all the right holiday boxes, from a walk-in shower to a family-friendly sitting room and an open-plan kitchen and dining room … Photograph: PR
Stroll around the town's dramatic abbey, explore its crooked streets (and its role in Captain Cook's history), hike out along the coast and moors or just sit on the terrace watching ships chug along the horizon.
• 01386 701177, ruralretreats.co.uk. Sleeps 5, from £905 a week Photograph: PR
This cosy oak-and-stone farm cottage south of Whitby has a mezzanine bedroom above an open-plan sitting room (with woodburner) and kitchen-diner … Photograph: PR
Luxuries include a sleek stone-tiled bathroom, with underfloor heating, walk-in shower and separate bath but, as the name suggests, it's really all about soaking up panoramic sea views – and the smell of salty air.
• 01637 881183, uniquehomestays.com. Sleeps 2, from £760 a week
No children Photograph: PR
A 17th-century timber-and-stone cottage a minute's walk from the beach, this two-bedroom hideaway has plenty of hi-tech comfort but the feel of staying on an old boat; the salvaged ships' lights are dimmable and the bespoke kitchen is painted a rich, inky aquamarine… Photograph: /PR
Porthole windows, antique sailing charts and old wooden oars complete the stylish nautical theme.
• 01757 630321, green-cottage.org.uk. Sleeps 4, from £410 a week Photograph: PR
