Need to know: The Pavilion Cottage can be booked through English Heritage - it sleeps four with prices from £395 for three nights and £760 for a week.

12 COTTAGES FOR HIRE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2008

ENGLISH HERITAGE

EH only started renting out properties a couple of years ago and now has 14 cottages to rent - lodges, houses, apartments and a tower.

How to rent our English Heritage

EH has opened up eight cottages for rent - Nick Wyke tried one of them, Pool House in Worcs

• Stately piles to stay in

The best holiday cottages in Britain

Four decades ago the Landmark Trust started a revolution in holiday rentals: now we pick the 15 most memorable hideaways

• Big houses for hire in Britain

• Self-catering cottages with hotel service

BACKGROUND

• A palace for the weekend

• How to stay in a castle in England

• Peak food and lodging in Derbyshire

• Ask our expert: child-friendly cottages

• Give me shelter: hotel outhouses

Related Internet Links

• Hotels, villas, camping, cottages and more in our Where to Stay section

Related Links

• The best holiday cottages in Britain

Multimedia

• Inside the Osborne House holiday cottage

Dover Castle: Peverell's Tower is inside the castle on top of the White Cliffs. Sleeping two in one double, the 13th century tower also has a kitchen, sitting room and bathroom - plus a roof terrace with views over the Channel. A mile to the sea and pub - or stay in with a DVD and CD player. Prices start at £315 for a three night break - available from April 14.

Northants: The Custodian's Cottage is in the grounds of Kirby Hall, East Northants, and has two double bedrooms, with private garden - you can use the grounds when the visitors have gone. Prices start at £225 for a three-night break -available from April 1.

LANDMARK TRUST

There are 186 Landmarks throughout Britain and the Channel Islands, including 23 on Lundy Island, four in Italy and four in the USA. They include forts, manor houses, mills, cottages, castles, gatehouses, follies and towers.

Dorset: Clavell Tower has been moved back 25 metres from the crumbling cliff and will open as a landmark Landmark for two on September 12 - move quickly as it's booking fast (I managed to get in fro three nights from November 21: cost £362).

Cambridgeshire: Another hideaway for two, Stoker's Cottage is a throwback to the times of industrial greatness in Britain. The previous inhabitant would shovel five tons of coal a day into a nearby engine - opened February, 2008.

Devon: Silverton Park Stables opens its doors in June, and can accommodate 14 people. The LT acquired the Viictorian stable block 20 years ago - sweep through the gates into a courtyard and so to bed.

VIVAT TRUST

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