You can say what you like about chic city hotels, or the B&B renaissance,
but for my money there’s no better place for a British summer break than a
cottage. A house of your own, instead of a room in someone else’s, with
honeysuckle around the door, thatch on the roof, countryside all around, and
no fellow guests or fussy owners to cringe when you make a noise or a mess.
They’re perfect – and, of course, all the good ones are booked by now.
Aren’t they?
Well, no. Last week, I spoke to two dozen country cottage operators, and most
of them said the same thing: this year, everyone’s booking late. Which means
there are some great places left unclaimed for weeks on end this summer,
even in the school holidays.
Here’s my pick of the best. And a tip, too: they’re going fast. Anyone who
wants quality should book right now, and anyone who wants anything more than
a garden shed needs to get in before England get knocked out of the world
cup. After the defeat by Brazil four years ago, the nation came to and
realised it needed a holiday – and a feeding frenzy saw almost every cottage
in the UK get snapped up in two days. You have been warned.
All prices are for a week. Availability details correct at time of going to
press.
FOR COUPLES
Romantic hideaways are the hardest to find, but here are a couple of treats in
Cumbria. Gingerbread Cottage is a sweet little 200-year-old house down a
quiet lane in Hawkshead, the prettiest village in the Lakes. It’s just been
refurbished – wood floors, swish kitchen, flat screen TV, soft lighting –
but the most interesting feature is the huge and tempting king-size mahogany
bed. It’s available for a week in June, another in July, and most of August,
from £355 through Lakelovers. Or if you’re after something more rustic,
there’s Mickle Rigg, a barn conversion overlooking the lovely Eden valley.
There’s a wealth of beams, plenty of exposed stone and a four-poster to romp
on: the owners will even deliver food and wine to the door, so there’s no
need to go out at all. Pity when High Pike, Bassenthaite and Derwentwater
are around the corner, though. It’s available from July 8 – 29; from £395
through The Little Domain.
Down in Devon, and scoring 10 on the twee scale, there’s Two Shoes on
Dartmoor, a detached barn conversion dating back to the 1600s, with slate
floors, stone walls and a wood-burner to get cosy around. It’s free for all
of July and August, from £426 with Classic Cottages. Perhaps best for early
risers, though – the owners in the nearby farmhouse do keep chickens.
Layabeds could try Bowood Barn, a lovely old renovated dairy bordered by
trout streams; available from July 15 through all of August, from £345 with
Marsdens.
FOR FOUR OR FIVE
In Wiltshire, Rectory Cottage is a detached stone building in the grounds of
the rectory at Biddestone, a lovely village with a pretty green, a duck pond
and two pubs. Sounds idyllic: the one snag is you’ll have to get used to the
culinary vicissitudes of the Aga – there’s no conventional oven. It sleeps
four, and there are weeks available throughout the summer, from £722 through
Rural Retreats.
Not far off in the Cotswolds, Little Hattons at Frampton Mansell is
understated but really rather posh: an 18th-century cottage sleeping four a
stroll away from the Thames and Severn canal, it’s got two pretty bedrooms
plus a games room with broadband, satellite and DVDs laid on. It’s older
kids only – no under-12s – or ideal for four grown-ups who want to take
advantage of the lovely pubs along the waterside. Available from July 21
through to September, from £695, with English Country Cottages.
A little further north there’s something rather odd on the Wales/Shropshire
border. Built in 1866, Oakfield Lodge is a Grade II listed historic
monument, originally the gatehouse to the county jail. Inauspicious,
perhaps, but the accommodation is rather better now: two lush bedrooms
overlooking Montgomery castle, with all mod cons. It’s free until August 25,
from £512 with cottages4you.co.uk.
Over in the Peak District, Church End Cottage is a neat little place sleeping
five, cleverly converted from (you guessed it) a former church. There are
some great walks round about on Kinder Scout; Bakewell and Chatsworth are
nearby; and kids will love the spooky show caves at Castleton. It’s
available for various weeks in June, July and August, from £411 with Country
Holidays.
They’ll make a Potter connection out of anything in the Lake District, so
ignore the fact that the nurse of Nurses Cottage, near Hawksmoor, was once
employed by Beatrix. It’s an older authenticity that sells it: dating from
1702, it’s all original oak panelling, beams and antiques. Not the place for
little ones, maybe, but tens and up will love the bike trails around
Esthwaite and the high rope walking and zip wires at Go Ape in Grizedale
Forest. There are weeks free in July and August from £675, through Heart of
the Lakes.
FOR SIX, SEVEN AND EIGHT
It’s hard to find quality places left in Cornwall, but The Grey House, an
18th-century former gunpowder magazine in gorgeous Kingsand, is still free
if you can go before July 7. The sea views are terrific, the panelling’s
original, there’s a sandy beach 100 yards away and windsurfers for hire
nearby. It costs from £822 with Helpful Holidays.
If you want the full-on, fully-thatched, picturebook countryside retreat, it’s
got to be The Farmhouse at Champernhayes, near Lyme Regis. The building’s
15th century, there’s a big country kitchen, a log burner in the inglenook
fireplace, four cute well-furnished bedrooms, views to the sea over rolling
countryside, and (naturally) dogs are welcome. There are a couple of weeks
left in July, from £1,047, through Premier Cottages.
If you want rural remoteness and scenery, though, try Cwm Bach Farm in the
Brecon Beacons. Set on its own down a track in acres of water meadows, the
200-year-old stone house has plenty of beams and a huge fireplace, and
superb country walks straight from the door – or, if you really want to get
away from it all, the challenging Agen Allwedd caves start just up the hill.
It sleeps seven, and can be had throughout June, July and two weeks in
August from Brecon Beacons Cottages.
Sorrel Cottage in Yorkshire is a different kettle of fish. Grade II listed
outside, chic and sleek in, local agency Shoreline are baffled as to why
it’s free for two weeks in July and two more in August – they reckon it’s
their best property. It’s big and beamy, decorated in modish white and
maroon, and just three miles from the seductively ancient cobbled streets of
Whitby. Sleeping six, the price is from £1,320.
Scrub what we said about Cwm Bach a minute ago. If you really want to
splendid isolation, Lairhope in the Scottish Borders just clinches it. Okay,
Hawick is a mere nine miles away, but you’re right out there, overlooking
your own loch (with good fishing) from a south-facing hillside (good
mountain-biking hereabouts, too). It sleeps eight, and can be had during
July and most of August from £750 through Ecosse Unique.
FOR TEN AND MORE
It’s especially unusual to find large properties in the west country unbooked
in June, but there’s a big, beautiful crop this year. On Bodmin Moor,
Hoseasons has the impressive Wenford Hall: six bedrooms (sleeping 10),
heated pool, home cinema, snooker room with a full sized table, all in
nearly an acre of gardens and paddock. There are weeks free in June and
July, from £2,166.
In Devon, Helpful Holidays has a couple of corkers. On Dartmoor there’s
Northill, a 14th-century Devon longhouse sleeping 10: it’s all antiques and
Agas, mullioned stone windows and thick stone walls, and (whisper it) it’s
available for most of June, July and August, from £1,253. But the star turn
is Ludbrook Manor in the South Hams. This is Grand with a big G:
castellated, oak-floored, sumptuously furnished, with nine bedrooms, eight
acres of grounds, an eight-person hot tub, a big indoor pool, a tennis
court, a playground, the lot. Mind you, it should be: there are three weeks
to be had during the school holidays, and each one will cost you a
thought-provoking £5,311.
If that’s too much to swallow, you could try The Old Winery at Wiscombe, a
flagstone-floored 19th century barn converted last year into a 10-bedroom,
eight bathroom extravaganza. There’s even room for a few guests – the dining
table seats 26. There are three weeks available through July and August,
from £3,250 with Premier Cottages.
Up in Wiltshire, there’s Underwood House (pictured, above), where the 40ft
farmhouse kitchen should be big enough for the 12 guests – if they haven’t
been lured outside by the stunning views over the four acres of grounds and
15 miles of picturebook countryside beyond. There are weeks in June and
July, and all of August, from £2,528 through Rural Retreats.
And finally, a castle. A genuine, turreted, moated, Merrie England,
courtly-love-and-suits-of-armour castle. Built in 1550, Castle Moat House in
Caverswall, Staffordshire sleeps 14 at a pinch, costs from £1,516 through
Hoseasons, with weeks available through June, July and August, and has
everything you need to fulfil those baronial fantasies. It’s quiet and
secluded, too, though just on the edge of the thriving metropolis of… Stoke.
Hmm.
No? Okay, here’s our last offer: just as baronial, and a sight more isolated,
Forter Castle in Angus sleeps 10 and comes complete with a great hall,
chapel, spiral stone staircases and gobsmacking views over the meadows and
mountains of Glenisla. It’s rather swish inside too, with heated flagstone
floors and DVD library (there’s no TV reception up here). You’ll have to get
in fast, though – it’s currently only available for a week in June, and the
first week in September: from £2,000 through Hoseasons.
Need to know
Brecon Beacons Cottages: 01874 676446, www.breconcottages.com
Classic Cottages: 01326 55 55 55, www.classic.co.uk
Cottages4you: 0870 192 1029, www.cottages4you.co.uk
Country Holidays: 0870 197 6895, www.country-holidays.co.uk
Ecosse Unique: 01835 822277, www.unique-cottages.co.uk
English Country Cottages: 0870 197 6890, www.english-country-cottages.co.uk
Heart of the Lakes: 015394 32321, www.heartofthelakes.co.uk
Helpful Holidays: 01647 434063, www.helpfulholidays.com
Hoseasons: 0870 902 3117, www.hoseasons.co.uk
Lakelovers: 015394-88855; www.lakelovers.co.uk
Marsdens: 01271 813 777, www.marsdens.co.uk
Premier Cottages: 01271 336050, www.premiercottages.com
Rural Retreats: 01386 701177, www.ruralretreats.co.uk
Shoreline: 0113 244 8410, www.shoreline-cottages.com
The Little Domain: 01326 240028, www.thelittledomain.com
