BEST SEASIDE COTTAGES

Spectacular views: CORNWALL

A renovated 1930s wooden hideaway on the cliffs overlooking Whitsand Bay, Rockwater Cabin takes some beating. Dine alfresco on the large decking area and you could catch sight of dolphins and porpoises. Inside it’s pretty and pristine: fresh, whitewashed walls, vintage furniture and sweet touches like fairy lights in the dining area and bright paintings by the owner on the walls. Newly available, it’s bound to get snapped up, so act quickly.
• Sleeps three, with room for a cot (not provided), £1,056 a week in July/August, £672 low season, 01326 555555, classic.co.uk.

Beach hut included: KENT

For a quintessential English beach holiday, Fisherman’s Cottage in Kingsdown, near Deal, ticks all boxes (minus sand in your sandwiches: the beach is of the pebbly variety). The two-bedroom end-of-terrace house is cute and cosy with charming garden and game-stocked summerhouse (dogs – but one only – welcome too). It’s the beach hut – complete with barbecue, table and chairs and surfboards, a few yards from the sea – that’s the real winner, though. Medieval Sandwich is close by and there’s plenty to do on the doorstep, with a pub around the corner and a golf course on the clifftop.
• Sleeps four, £661 a week July/August, £385 low season, 0333 2020 899, cottageholidays.co.uk

On the village green: NORFOLK

Brand new for this summer, The Spicers is a spacious holiday house on the tree-lined Buttlands, a green square in the middle of Wells-next-the-Sea. With four en suite bedrooms, it’s great for larger families or groups of friends. Award-winning Wells beach, with its four miles of white sand backed by pines, is about a mile away – and there’s a renovated beach hut for guests’ use too. The Spicers is owned by the nearby Globe Inn, a popular pub and restaurant with rooms, and promises the same attention to detail.
• Sleeps eight, £1,950 a week in July/August, £1,650 low season, 01328 710206, theglobeatwells.co.uk (it’s not on the site yet, but watch this space)

Amid the dunes: NORTHUMBERLAND

New this spring, sitting among sand dunes on a beautiful stretch of the Northumberland coast, Sandhills is a two-bedroomed, light-filled, chalet-style house with Bamburgh Castle a dramatic backdrop. The family-friendly beach has won awards for water quality and cleanliness, and is perfect for long walks, surfing and windsurfing. Rock pools will keep little ones entertained for hours.
• Sleeps three, £595 a week in July/August, £395 low season, 01573 226711, crabtreeandcrabtree.com

Woodland hideaway: DEVON

One of a row of three 18th-century dwellings built for officers tasked with catching smugglers along the wild Devon coast, Coastguard Cottage 3 is a few minutes from rocky Peppercombe beach and surrounded by woods. It’s a picturesque spot and a great location for exploring. Midway between Clovelly village and the old port of Bideford, it sits on the South West Coast Path, just east of rugged Hartland Point. Cottage 1, which sleeps four, and Cottage 2, sleeping three, also have some (limited) availability over the summer.
• Sleeps two, £899 for a week in July/August, £355 low season, 0344 800 2070, nationaltrustholidays.org.uk

Contemporary style: WEST SUSSEX

Slap bang on the seafront, Pagham Beach House is a stunning, modern property, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a sleek, comfortable interior. The open-plan living area spills out on to a sheltered wooden terrace and there’s a double and two twin bedrooms (plus extra sofa bed). he lovely town of Chichester isn’t far away.
• Sleeps eight, £2,325 a week in July/August, £1,274 low season, 07976 432172, paghambeachhouse.co.uk

Eco-barn with sea views: PEMBROKESHIRE

Set in nine acres of farmland, Tân y Garn is a newly converted stone-built barn with sweeping sea views over Whitesands Bay. The open-plan living space is on the first floor to make the most of the panorama, while the two bedrooms and bathrooms are downstairs. A rugged outcrop rises behind the property, and there’s a sunken lawn and patio for lounging and barbecues. A choice of wild beaches and the Pembrokeshire Coast Path are nearby. Larger groups can rent Upper Porthmawr next door (sleeps eight). Eco-touches include solar panels, there’s Wi-Fi and Sky TV, and dogs are welcome.
• Sleeps four, £1,850 a week in July/August, £695 low season, 01437 721674, experience-mor.org

Hebridean croft: ISLE OF HARRIS

The isolated cliff-top location of The Big House and adjoining The Other House, two newly built self-catering houses on the south-eastern tip of Harris, in the Outer Hebrides, means uninterrupted views across the sound and neighbouring isles. A modern, eco-friendly take on the classic croft, both have one bedroom and open-plan, light-filled living areas, with stylish mid-century decor. There are great walks on the doorstep and porpoise, dolphin and seals are common sights off the white sand beaches.
• Each sleeps two, from £1,150 a week in July/August, £695 in low season, no phone, soundofharris.co.uk

Pool party: CORNWALL

With its own 15-metre heated swimming pool overlooking the Atlantic, Praaloha in Praa Sands, south-west Cornwall, is a super-stylish, five-bedroom holiday home – worth splashing out on for an extra special break. Floor-to-ceiling windows make the most of amazing views, there’s tons of space, two sitting rooms, two kitchens, and the garden has a pool house complete with bar. There are beautiful white beaches and plenty of pubs and restaurants close by, as well as a surf school and the South West Coast Path, if you can bear to leave home for that long.
• Sleeps 10, £4,995 a week in July/August, £2,150 low seaon, 01736 754242, aspects-holidays.co.uk

COTTAGES FOR NATURE LOVERS

Splendid isolation: LAKE DISTRICT

Situated near the bottom of the steepest road in England, Bird How in Holmrook is in a super-remote location in one of the least-visited parts of the Lake District, above the river Esk. Small and rustic, it’s perfect for a back-to-basics stay and for hikers wanting a challenge without the crowds. There’s a twin bedroom and another with bunk beds (bring your own sheets) but there’s no bathroom – use the kitchen for washing, and the toilet’s in the former cow barn in the basement of the cottage.
• Sleeps four, £642 a week in July/August, £335 low season, 0344 800 2070, nationaltrustholidays.org.uk

Private meadow: SUFFOLK

New this year, the Hobbit Box is a cleverly converted wooden horsebox in its own wildflower meadow on a 115-acre glamping site, Secret Meadows. With handcrafted wooden furniture, vintage velvet curtains and a Middle Earth theme (from goblets and round windows to Tolkien-themed prints on the walls), it’s a total charmer. There are two double bunks, a wood-burning stove, private loo and shower and wooden deck for moonlit nights underneath the oak trees. The site is run by The Sinfield Nature Conservation Trust and there are nature trails through old woodland and meadows, and bushcraft and Wild Way workshops too.
• Sleeps four, £894 a week in July/August, £779 low season, 01394 382992, secretmeadows.co.uk

Converted hayloft: YORKSHIRE DALES

With its gleaming white walls and stripped floors, Nethergill’s two self-catering cottages might imply a vision of unsullied escapism – but most of their guests come here to get a bit of mud on their boots. On a working hill farm in Langstrothdale, these two converted haylofts are part of an environmentally sensitive retreat on 400 acres of moorland, meadows and pasture at the head of the river Wharfe. On site there are two observation hides (spot otters, black grouse, wagtails, redstarts, snipe and oystercatchers) and a field centre, while walks include direct access to Greenfield Forest (a red squirrel reserve) and the Dales Way.
• Both cottages sleep four, £655 a week in July/August, £401 low season, 01756 761126, nethergill.co.uk

Private island: HIGHLANDS

There’s something totally magical about Eilean Shona, the private island off the west coast of Scotland that inspired JM Barrie to write Peter Pan. And the recently opened Old Schoolhouse adds a dreamy new place to stay. Totally off-grid (with no electricity, Wi-Fi or phone signal), it’s in a wild setting on a secluded bay with incredible views. The 1,300-acre island has eagles, otters and dolphins to spot. Inside, every inch is beautifully styled, with a mix of retro and contemporary furniture (not surprising when the designer is Vanessa Branson – sister to Richard).
• Sleeps four, £1,250 a week year-round (closed November to late March) including transfers from the mainland, 01967 431249, eileanshona.com

Luxury log cabin: MORAY

A clean-lined take on the log cabin, Culbin Edge mixes natural experiences with total comfort. Inside the cosy forest sanctuary there’s a modern kitchen, walk-in shower, bedroom with kingsize bed and living room with floor-to-ceiling windows. Outside a wooden hot tub and covered deck mean you can gaze at the surrounding fields and pine forest (and try to spot roe deer, badgers, foxes, red squirrels and pine martens) in all weathers. Wild sandy beaches are a walk away, or head to the pond to watch dragonflies. Recent guests have even seen the northern lights.
• Sleeps four, £550 a week in July/August, £400 low season, 0117-204 7830, canopyandstars.co.uk

Railway cabin: BRECON BEACONS

The closest you’ll come to a frontier cabin this side of Colorado, Ty Donkey offers a bit more comfort than your average settler’s homestead. The off-grid former railway cabin outside Crickhowell, in the Brecon Beacons national park, is a mix of log cabin simplicity and rustic decadence, with a hand-built kitchen, freestanding bath, solar-powered lighting, wood-burning stove, double platform bed and chunky wooden bunks (for under-eights only). It’s surrounded by 50 acres of woods and fields (also enjoyed by the two rescue donkeys that give the cabin its name) and visitors can spend their time swimming in a river pool and hiking through untamed countryside.
• Sleeps four, £655 a week in July/August, £615 low season, 01237 426289, sugarandloaf.com

Private forest: POWYS

Named after the birds that sweep overhead, Red Kite Barn lies in a private forest north of Builth Wells in mid-Wales, surrounded by rolling hills. The traditional exterior hides a chic contemporary interior (and it’s eco-friendly too, with ground source heat pumps and wool wall insulation). The upstairs open-plan living area is flooded with light from windows on all sides, and downstairs there are three bedrooms (with beds rescued from London’s Savoy Hotel). But it’s the isolated location that’s the real winner: wrap up and enjoy a drink under the stars in the raised garden and forget about the rest of the world.
• Sleeps six, £1,735 a week year-round (special rate of £1,200 for two people), 01865 764087, sheepskinlife.com

Clifftop bothy: DEVON

The National Trust’s newest holiday property, Foreland Bothy may not be what you’re expecting if you’re used to the organisation’s plush self-catering cottages. In this clifftop bothy, right on the South West Coast Path above Lynmouth, facilities stretch to a composting toilet and a cold-water sink. Think of it as a stone tent: if you want light after sunset, pack a torch; if you want to cook, you’ll need a camping stove. But what it lacks in frills, the bothy makes up for with unhindered access to wildlife. Instead of TV, enjoy panoramic sea views, tune in to the sound of stonechats on gorse bushes and spot black back gulls, kites, peregrines and, if you’re lucky, red deer or free-roaming Exmoor ponies.
• Sleeps four, £20 a night all year, 0344 800 2070, nationaltrustholidays.org.uk

COTTAGES FOR ARCHITECTURE FANS

Modernist bungalow: PEAK DISTRICT

A luxury mid-century modern bungalow in Ashford-in-the-Water in the heart of the Peak District, Bridge End has characteristic clean lines, large windows and open-plan layout. It was built in 1962 by a local architect, and has a big garden with Derbyshire’s Wye river running along the bottom of it. Inside it’s bright, airy and stylish, with carefully chosen furniture, four double bedrooms (plus four bath/shower rooms) and a games room with pool table. The location, in between Bakewell and Buxton, is great for exploring the whole region.
• Sleeps eight, £1,675 a week in July/August, £1,369 low season, 07585 229002, bridgeendashford.com

Art deco: NORTHUMBERLAND

A three-storey 1930s-built house by the coast in Beadnell, 1-2 The Haven has curves in all the right places. The bedrooms are downstairs and the living area is upstairs to make the most of the sea views. There’s oodles of space, with a terrace on the first floor and a sun deck on the second; two large lounges and a games room, make it perfect for large groups and families. Sandy Beadnell Bay stretches for two miles; the harbour town of Seahouses is two miles away and Bamburgh Castle four miles away. Summer availability is very limited, however, so move quickly.
• Sleeps nine, £2,085 a week in July/August, £1,050 low season, artdecobeadnell.co.uk, ownersdirect.co.uk

Tudor pile: HEREFORDSHIRE

Live out your Tudor fantasies at The Throne, a grade II-listed gentleman’s residence that dates back to 1478 (Charles I spent a night here during the English civil war). The house has secret doors, oak boards and panelling, stone flags, leaded windows, and wattle and daub walls – but marries old and new with the modern, bright, spacious kitchen and living area. There are seven bedrooms, and a lovely garden with trampoline and badminton net. Weobley is one of best-preserved “black and white villages” in England, full of timber-framed Tudor houses.
• Sleeps 12, £1,913 a week year-round, 01873 890 573, cottage-holiday-wales.co.uk

Gothic temple: BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

For a very special holiday steeped in history, try the Gothic Temple at Stowe (though it comes at a price). Built in 1741 and surrounded by Capability Brown-designed gardens, the rooms are all circular with pilasters, and the sitting room is decorated with heraldry and mosaic and topped with a gilded dome. The bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom are squeezed into turrets. There is a first-floor belvedere at the top of a spiral staircase, with stone seats and a view over the grounds, and a roof terrace.
• Sleeps four, £2,491 a week in July/August, £1,107 low season, 01628 825925, landmarktrust.org.uk

Modernist masterpiece: WEST SUSSEX

Designed by modernist British architect Patrick Gwynne in the late 1960s, Vista Point, close to the pebbly beach in East Preston, has real wow factor – it feels like you’ve stepped back in time, with furniture and wallpaper from the era completing the look. The grade II-listed house (Gwynne completed it in 1970) has a striking spiral staircase, five bedrooms, and an outdoor swimming pool (heated May to September) in the large garden, along with table football and trampoline. It’s one for splashing out on for a special occasion.
• Sleeps nine, £3,700 a week in July/August, £1,850 low season, vista-point.co.uk or themodernhouse.com

Regency splendour: LAKE DISTRICT

Hidden away in private woodland south of Newby Bridge – and 10 minutes from the shores of Windermere – Eller How House is a grand, self-contained wing of an architect-designed Regency villa, and has beautiful views. Its striking exterior is matched by unusual features inside, from ornate plasterwork in the living room to a collection of “heads” holding up the ceiling in the master bedroom, and furniture to match. With three en-suite bedrooms there’s plenty of space for families, and the lovely grounds, complete with summerhouse, are fun for children to explore. And, of course, the delights of the Lakes await, from walking on the southern fells to water sports on Windermere and Coniston.
• Sleeps six, £1,250 a week in July/August, £795 low season, holidaylettings.co.uk

Monastic retreat: SCOTTISH BORDERS

It will come as little surprise that Kirknowe, now a peaceful, dog-friendly holiday cottage, was once a retreat for monks from Jedburgh monastery. Its double-height living area has an ecclesiastical feel, with a soaring arched window, huge tapestry and galleried bedroom (there are two more traditional bedrooms in a side wing). Colourful, boho decor and the wood-burning stove make this a convivial space to return to after a day walking or cycling around nearby Newcastleton forest, which is also home to one of Scotland’s renowned 7Stanes mountain biking centres. (The cottage has a separate bike store.)
• Sleeps six, £595 a week in July/August, £305 low season, 01665 830783 northumbria-cottages.co.uk

ROMANTIC COTTAGES

Loch boathouse: PERTHSHIRE

It’s hard to imagine a more romantic spot to hole up for a couple of days than a wooden boathouse on the edge of a Scottish loch. So popular has their first boathouse, Dipper, proved, that the owners of this beautiful 50-acre farm on the banks of Loch Tay have built a second one, Otter, which still has good availability for this summer. Like its sister property, Otter is a bright and airy open-plan love-nest, built on stilts at the edge of the water and decorated in Scandi-chic hues of white, grey and blue. Go skinny-dipping in the loch before warming up in front of the log-burner or star-gazing from your private deck.
• Sleeps two, £1,088 a week in July/August, £878 low season, 01887 830336, sawdays.co.uk

Recycled chic: HEREFORDSHIRE

When it comes to creative upcycling, a coal-fired hot tub fashioned from two disused digger buckets has to take the prize. This is just one of many “rustic-chic” treats at The Hideaway, a new glamping retreat near Hay-on-Wye. The accommodation consists of two hand-crafted wooden huts in an ancient hay meadow. The first is your sleeping quarters, with a proper double bed, a wood-burning stove and a small kitchen. Outside is an enormous fire pit with large benches around it, from which to toast marshmallows. The second hut has a wet-room style shower with wood-burning stove and a hot tub positioned for the best mountain views.
• Sleeps two, £655 a week in July/August, £615 low season, 01873 890415, sugarandloaf.com

Cosy cottage: CORNWALL

A 300-year-old thatched cottage, 3 Whitewalls is small but perfectly formed. With low-beamed ceilings and stone fireplace, it’s super cosy, but the stylish furnishings keep things from straying into the twee zone and the details – White Company bed linen, Vi-Spring mattress, Roberts radio, ROK coffee machine and Molton Brown toiletries – are five-star. It’s questionable you’ll want to leave this retreat for long, but the location couldn’t be better: in the picturesque village of Mithian and just a minute’s walk from an inviting 16th-century inn and 20 minutes from the nearest beach, at Trevellas Porth.
• Sleeps two, £801 a week in August, £651 low season, 01872 553491, boutique-retreats.co.uk

Wizard’s tower: NORTHUMBERLAND

A listed three-storey medieval tower, Pottergate Tower has been converted into a luxurious retreat for two with stunning views of Alnwick Castle. Up the narrow spiral stone steps on the first level there’s a modern kitchen, with a mezzanine viewing area with vistas of the castle and town of Alnwick. The second floor has lounge and bathroom, with exposed stone walls and gothic mullioned windows, and up from here is the bedroom, with 360-degree views and super-kingsize bed.
• Sleeps two, £930 a week in July/August, £680 low season, 01665 710 700, coquetcottages.co.uk

Your own private Idaho: WEST SUSSEX

If your idea of fun is frolicking in ancient woodlands and wild swimming, look no further than the Idaho Cabin. The latest glamping option at Forest Garden (there are also two yurts) this log cabin blends seamlessly into the forest. It’s completely off-grid, so you’ll have to light your own fire in the evening and dine by candlelight. Owners Lisa and Charles are on hand to show the basics of firelighting, and if you’re feeling more ambitious they can teach you how to sculpt a bowl in one of their green woodworking courses, forage for mushrooms, or make your own lip balm from beeswax. Fall asleep to the soundtrack of owls hooting.
• Sleeps two, £867 a week all year, 0117-204 7830, canopyandstars.co.uk

Touch of class: OXFORDSHIRE

Eccentric, opulent and ever so English, riverside Blenheim Cottage, on the Blenheim Palace Estate, makes for a classy country getaway. It’s shaded by oaks and horse chestnuts and fronted by lawns sloping down to the Glyme river, while inside, the decor is dark and decadent – chandeliers, floor-length silk curtains, Zoffany wallpapers, open fires and a burgundy slipper bath. There’s a summerhouse in the garden and an honesty larder well-stocked with goodies. Guests can explore the birthplace of Winston Churchill and its manicured grounds then venture into Woodstock or Oxford. In the evening, the cottage offers a sense of privileged seclusion. Massages, a private chef or a picnic hamper can all be arranged.
• Sleeps four, £3,150 a week in July/August, £2,233 low season, i-escape.com

Shepherd’s hut: DEVON

Most shepherds would be gobsmacked at the luxury of this “shepherd’s hut” overlooking a lake in deepest Devon. A private hot tub, underfloor heating, hot showers, luxury bed linen and Wi-Fi are just some of the home comforts for guests checking into Shepherd’s Bliss, one of two new bijou glamping options on this family-run farm near Tiverton. Each hut has fire pit and barbecue, and of course, the hot tub so you can watch herons settling on the lake or buzzards circling overhead while you soak. It feels as though it’s in the middle of nowhere but the market towns of Tiverton and Crediton are a short drive away.
• Sleeps two, £720 a week in July/August, £366 low season, 01326 555555, classic.co.uk

Enchanted lakeside: COUNTY FERMANAGH

There’s a storybook quality to this little thatched cottage with whitewashed walls and red front door, sitting in splendid isolation on the edge of the Fermanagh lakelands. Geaglum Cottage is done out with vintage furniture, patchwork quilts and colourful crockery, but the real star is the gorgeous Romany caravan in the garden, which comes with a double bed and wood-fired stove – perfect for adding a little extra romance or magic to your stay. There’s a small shingle beach half a mile away and boat trips from Knockninny marina, a 15-minute drive away.
• Sleeps five, £592 a week in July/August (based on two staying), £381 low season, 0844 5005 101, underthethatch.co.uk

Rocky retreat: WORCESTERSHIRE

Carved into a sandstone cliff in pretty private woodlands, Rockhouse Retreat offers a luxury take on cave living. The cave, close to a babbling brook in the Habberley Valley near Kidderminster, dates back over 700 years and has been cleverly turned into a magical, romantic bolthole. Inside it’s all pebbled whitewashed walls, handmade wooden furniture, rustic tiles and a cosy living room that’s perfect for candlelit dinners.
• Sleeps two, £1,095 a week (year round), no phone, coolstays.com

COTTAGES NEAR GREAT PUBS

Gastro fare and real ale: LAKE DISTRICT

The Drunken Duck Inn in Hawkshead is one of the Lake District’s most renowned gastropubs. With its own micro-brewery and a menu of creative Cumbrian fare (including a tasting menu on Friday and Saturday evenings), it’s rated by walkers and foodies alike. Stay at cosy Honey Pot Cottage in the hamlet of Outgate, just a mile away, and you’ll be able to call this place your local. A traditional stone-and-slate terraced cottage, it dates back 300 years and has beamed ceilings, a wood-burning stove and pretty furnishings. Ambleside, one of the Lakes’s most popular hubs, is a 10-minute drive away and there are some impressive walks from the door.
• Sleeps four, £728 a week in August, £382 low season, 01228 599960, cumbrian-cottages.co.uk

Family-friendly barn: PEAK DISTRICT

Surrounded by dramatic scenery, Wheeldon Trees Farm offers nine cheerful and homely cottages converted from an old dairy barn. The owners have gone to great lengths to make the place family- and dog-friendly: facilities include a communal dining and games room with pool table, table football, books, guides and DVDs. There are some great walks in the area, including the 17-mile High Peak trail. Your nearest pub is the Quiet Woman, a mile away in Earl Sterndale. It’s a proper old-fashioned local with coal fire, quarry tiles, a family room with pool, skittles and darts, and a menu that begins and ends with pork pies. For more sophisticated food, the Royal Oak and Packhorse Inn are also within walking distance.
• Elliott cottage sleeps four, £785 a week in July/August, £517 low season, 01298 83219, premiercottages.co.uk

Remote and rocky: WESTER ROSS

The Applecross peninsula is reached via a dramatic mountain pass with hairpin bends and steep drops to test the nerves of the steadiest driver, but it’s worth the trip. Tigh-A-Chreagan (it means house on the rocks) is a newly refurbished croft cottage in an elevated position, four miles from the village of Applecross. It’s been kitted out with flair and vintage charm, with woodburning stoves and two cosy panelled bedrooms under the eaves. The cottage is new to Unique Cottages so still has decent availability for this summer. Stretch your legs with a hike to the Applecross Inn, three miles away. Hikers and climbers congregate in the friendly bar and the restaurant is famed for its fresh seafood and game.
• Sleeps four, £650 a week in July/August, £395 low season, 01835 822277, unique-cottages.co.uk

Choice of four pub: BRECON BEACONS

Stay at Anushka’s Cottage in Talybont-on-Usk and you’ll have not one, but four great pubs virtually on your doorstep: the White Hart, the Usk Inn, the Travellers Rest and award-winning Star Inn, with its beer garden and access to the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal towpath. The good-value cottage makes an ideal base for a car-free holiday, with shops, cafes and pubs within easy walking distance and some great hikes into the Brecon Beacons national park from the front door. There are wooden floors, a wood-burning stove and window seats overlooking the garden.
• Sleeps three, £420 a week in July/August, £336 low season, 01874 676446, breconcottages.com

Medieval magic: SUFFOLK

Dating from the 15th century, Malt Cottage, in the riverside village of Nayland, was recently restored to its former splendour by an artisan builder and craftsman. Original features such as the inglenook fireplace and flagstone floors are softened by Persian rugs, tapestries and French antiques, and there’s a beautiful sunny garden for relaxing in. If you can tear yourself away, the Anchor Inn, five minutes’ walk away, is a great pub on the banks of the Stour, with its own smokehouse and locally brewed ales. The walks and attractions of Constable Country and the Dedham Vale are all around you.
• Sleeps four, from £864 a week in July/August, £608 low season, 01787 211115, grove-cottages.co.uk

Eat with a Masterchef: CORNWALL

Masterchef Anton Piotrowski (winner in 2012) is carving a name for himself with his menu of locally sourced food at the Springer Spaniel in the hamlet of Treburley. Guests staying at Woodcutters Barn, in a peaceful rural location near Launceston, can sample house specialities such as 48-hour slow-braised ox cheek with horseradish mash, or macaroni cheese with tomato foam: the inn is less than a mile away. The barn is contemporary but cosy, with a wood-burning stove, deep leather sofas and oak beams. It’s all on one level, so accessible for wheelchair users.
• Sleeps five, £828 a week in July/August, £363 low season, 01326 555 555, classic.co.uk

Made for two: SOMERSET

A sweet little cottage for two in Norton St Phillip, Springfield Cottage packs a big punch when it comes to charm and character. White walls, wooden floors, a wood-burning stove and an original bread oven make for a homely and relaxing retreat. The village was once an important centre for the wool trade and has many beautiful 18th-century buildings and two pubs. The 700-year-old George Inn, thought to be one of the oldest in the country, has oak beams, a galleried courtyard and a menu of traditional British dishes, including slow-cooked shin of beef in stout and sticky toffee pudding.
• Sleeps two, £636 a week in July/August, from £282 low season, 01803 814000, westcountrycottages.co.uk

Town and country: YORKSHIRE DALES

The market town of Middleham is famous for horseracing. Stay in mellow stone Castle Hill Cottage in the town centre and you may hear them clip-clopping across the cobbles as they make their way to the gallops each morning. This characterful cottage – flagstone floors, oak beams, huge fireplace, stylish contemporary furnishings – makes a great base for those who don’t want to rely on their car. The impressive Norman castle and attractive market square are a few minutes’ walk away, as are Middleham’s atmospheric hostelries, including the 300-year-old Richard III, which serves local ales and hearty portions of home-cooked food.
• Sleeps five, £715 a week in August, from £399 low season, 01244 356695, sykescottages.co.uk

COTTAGES FOR ACTIVE TYPES

Fishermen’s friend: NEW FOREST

For anyone keen on fishing, or just kicking back by the water, Riverside Lodge, on a lake next to the Avon, one of the UK’s best coarse fishing rivers, is perfect. New last autumn, the cedar-clad, two-bedroom, two-bathroom lodge has a veranda over the water and fishing rights. It’s also a great location for birdwatching and walks in the New Forest, and the pubs and restaurants of Fordingbridge are a mile away. Because of the proximity to the river and to free-roaming deer and other wildlife, it’s not suitable for small children or dogs.
• Sleeps four, £1,295 a week in July/August, £1,042 low season, 01590 679655, newforestcottages.co.uk

Poet’s corner: NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

In the grounds of Newstead Abbey, once home to romantic poet Lord Byron, grade II-listed, two-bedroom Gardener’s Cottage opened for lettings in Marchlast month. Built in the 1860s, it has been refurbished to retain original features such as mullioned windows, and has a walled garden. Newstead Abbey and the 300-acre formal gardens and countryside that inspired Byron are great for exploring and there’s plenty to do locally, from visiting Byron’s grave in Hucknall to walking in Sherwood Forest, half an hour away.
• Sleeps six, £1,100 a week in July/August, £720 low season, ownersdirect.co.uk

Surrounded by nature: ISLE OF MAN

A thatch-and-stone cottage, right by Lhen beach on the island’s north coast, Yn Thie Thooit may be an ancient structure (its name is Manx for “the thatched house”) but it only opened to guests in February. Owned by Manx National Heritage, the cottage used to house wardens at the adjacent Cronk-Y-Bing nature reserve but has been renovated as a holiday let. Ideal for walkers, cyclists and twitchers (feathered visitors include curlews, oystercatchers, ringed plovers, little terns, and diving gannets), it’s great for outdoor activities and for watching shooting stars and meteor showers.
• Sleeps two, £595 a week all year, 01624 648015, manxnationalheritage.im

Star gazing: GALLOWAY

Newly renovated, two-bedroom Glen Cottage on the Dunskey Estate pairs antique washstands, gilt-framed prints and painted tongue-and-groove panelling with G Plan sideboards and 1960s-style lamps (though the truly hip will need to shield their sensitive eyes from the ugly laminate kitchen). There’s loads to do, from a night photography course to a family-friendly rocket-making workshop with one of the Dark Sky Park rangers at Galloway Forest Park (gsabiosphere.org.uk), the first UK Dark Sky Park. The estate’s lochs, woodland, beaches and walled garden offer hours of exploring, before you stop off for haddock chowder or lemon tart at Dunskey’s organic cafe. There are other cottages on the site for larger groups.
• Sleeps five, £700 a week in July/August, £400 low season, dunskey.com

Hike from the door: MONMOUTHSHIRE

Part of Canopy & Stars’ wild walks collection of places with footpaths from the door, the Chickenshed is a dog-friendly, cedar, glass, polished concrete and steel barn in two acres of countryside outside Tintern, in the Wye Valley. Despite its agricultural history, the shed is anything but rustic inside, with underfloor heating, a hi-tech kitchen and the kind of smart, minimalist interiors that will have design fans scrambling to buy their own Muuto lighting and Jane Beck blankets. The four-bedroom property is also close to fab mountain biking and canoeing trails, Puzzlewood forest park (used in the latest Star Wars film) and the Humble by Nature farm.
• Sleeps eight, £1,750 a week in July/August, £1,225 low season, negotiable for fewer guests, 0117-204 7830, canopyandstars.co.uk

Outdoor fun within the grounds: COUNTY FERMANAGH

One of seven loughside cottages around a courtyard on the Crom Estate in Newtownbutler, one of Norther Ireland’s most important nature reserves, Woodford Cottage is an ideal base for an outdoorsy family holiday. A former piggery, it has been transformed into cosy two-bedroom cottage with a forest and acres of waterways and wildlife-filled countryside on the doorstep. Families can spend days fishing, biking and kayaking, without ever leaving the estate. Larger groups can rent one or more of the other cottages.
• Sleeps four (plus cot), £705 a week in July/August, £345 low season, 0344 800 2070, nationaltrustholidays.org.uk

Ideal for families: WARWICKSHIRE

In the grounds of a 15th-century manor, a 250-year-old barn has been converted into four cottages: they’re known collectively as Whitley Elm Cottages, and Portia Cottage has particularly good availability over the summer. Offering great value, it’s a winning combination of rural setting and plenty of attractions close by. The estate has vast gardens to explore, Warwick Castle and boating on the river Avon are 20 minutes away, Shakespeare’s birthplace is not much further and there are also swimming pools, go-carting, and a good choice of restaurants and bars.
• Sleeps four, £425 a week in July/August, £355 low season, 01926 484577, farmstay.com

Walkers’ bolthole: YORKSHIRE DALES

A newly converted two-bedroom property on the ground floor of an old stone corn mill in the Wensleydale countryside, The Granary has plenty of availability over summer (and is offering an introductory discount of 20% to boot). On the edge of the village of Thoralby, it is surrounded by beautiful views of meadows and woodlands and, of course, it’s a great choice for walking fans: climbs up Wasset Fell, Morpeth Scar and Pen Hill await. Comfortably furnished and well-equipped, it’s a cosy place to kick off your walking boots after a busy day, and there’s a pub an easy stroll away in Bishopdale Beck.
• Sleeps four, £534 a week in July/August, £423 low season, 01947 600700, yorkshireholidaycottages.co.uk

Art house: SOMERSET

One for art lovers, Godney Arts House is a traditional three-bedroom cottage that has been turned into a stylish bolthole with flagstone floors, retro furniture (think copper-top dining table and velvet sofas) and interesting artwork throughout. The award-winning Sheppey Inn is a few minutes away and there are lots of great walks – the Westhay Moor national nature reserve (where up to eight million starlings take refuge in reed beds) is one of several in the area and the Somerset Levels and Glastonbury Tor are on the doorstep. Just a little away further is Cheddar Gorge, offering climbing and potholing.
• Sleeps eight, £1,400 a week in July/August, £910 low season, coolstays.com