Take me there: Martello Tower, Suffolk
If sea views, big skies and splendid isolation rank high on your holiday wish list, this new bolthole on the Suffolk coast should be just the ticket. With spectacular 360-degree views from its roof terrace, the Martello Tower is being offered as a holiday let for the first and only time this summer, as the family who own it take an extended trip. One of a chain of fortresses built along England's east coast during the Napoleonic Wars, it's been converted into a contemporary and quirky home with circular rooms, 13ft-thick walls and a light-filled kitchen-diner opening on to the balcony. The tower sleeps eight, plus four in an adjacent boathouse. It's available between June and October, with prices from £1,650 per week (suffolk-secrets.co.uk).
It's a good time to... go on a busman's holiday
"We're all going on a summer holiday…" The double-decker bus may have been Cliff Richard's chosen method of transport, but for today's holidaymakers in search of novelty and adventure, it's the destination. Train carriages, boats and helicopters have been called into service as quirky "glamping" accommodation, but now it's the turn of the humble bus to enjoy a new lease of life. Cool campsite Blackberry Wood (blackberrywood.com) led the way with the addition of a 1964 London Routemaster which had been "pimped" to include a downstairs kitchen/diner and cosy upstairs sleeping area. Since its arrival on the Sussex site last summer, it's been pretty much booked up for weekends and school holidays.
Hot on its heels is a beautifully converted 1960s Bedford Panorama single-decker which has pitched up in a field near Hay-on-Wye and is taking bookings from this month (from £103 per night, canopyandstars.co.uk). Boasting a wooden floor, handcrafted kitchen, soft linens in pastel colours, a wood-burning stove, solar heating and separate wooden bathhouse with rolltop bath, it's the bus equivalent of Babington House. Sort of. And it's still got the original driver's seat and steering wheel if you want to play bus driver. Ding ding!
Give me a break: the week's best deals
Spring in the Scillies Spring comes early to the Isles of Scilly, with tropical flowers blooming, whales basking and seals sunbathing. Celebrate the end of winter at Hell Bay Hotel on the island of Bryher, saving 25% on normal rates. Guests staying four nights between 16 March and 1 April pay £720pp for half-board accommodation, return travel from Cornwall and transfers to the hotel (hellbay.co.uk)
Skiing in Lapland March and April are the best months for skiing in Finnish Lapland, with longer daylight hours than the rest of Europe and great snow conditions until mid-May. A week's stay at the self-catering Villa Armas Cabins in Yllas, with the highest skiing in Finland, costs £560pp, and includes return flights from London Gatwick to Kittilä. The offer is valid from 24-31 March (inghams.co.uk)
