Good for: properties throughout Scotland, especially on the lochs.

Pick of the cottages: The Old Smiddy (summer £650; December £395; sleeps 6), on the Cowal peninsula, comes dripping in wildlife, with deer, otters, seals, dolphins, golden eagles and barn owls all regularly spotted on or around Kilfi-nan Bay and nearby Loch Fyne.

The Timber House (summer £740; December £325; sleeps 4) is an eco-property built to blend in with its surroundings on the Isle of Skye. Seals and whales are headline acts, but the real selling point is The Three Chimneys (www.threechimneys.co.uk ), a few minutes’ stroll away, one of the best restaurants in Scotland and voted one of the world’s top 50 by Restaurant magazine.

Or try The Granary (summer £560; December £320; sleeps 4, dog welcome), minutes from the village of Drumnadrochit, Loch Ness, with pubs, restaurants and the Loch Ness exhibition centre. Inverness is a car ride away, and you can have your food and drink delivered from the local supermarket, unpacked and waiting for you - or local catering firm Baking Birds will pop round with a three-course meal for two for £30.

Big group holiday? Get separate cottages

How to go on holiday with friends and ensure you’re still friends by the end of it

• A country house party for £13 a night

A country house party for £13 a night

Nick Dalton, 30 friends and family, hires a youth hostel in the New Forest for the weekend

• The Lake District for £7-a-night

Britain's 20 best holiday cottages

It’s not enough to have a gorgeous pad in a pristine location. What's the extra bit?

• Big group holiday? Get separate cottages

How to stay in a castle in England

English Heritage is renting out cottages in the ruins of castles. Julia Brookes heads to Dover Castle

• Historic British places to stay

Related Links

• Big group holiday? Get separate cottages

• Britain's 20 best holiday cottages

Contact:01456 486358, www.wildernesscottages.co.uk

WHICH COTTAGE

Good for: holiday homes around the UK, but strongest in Scotland.

Pick of the cottages:Steading (summer £600; December £450; sleeps 4) in Perth-shire is a luxury property with abundant golf courses on hand - Gleneagles is only 15 minutes by car. Once you’ve got your hole-in-one, you can pop off to nearby Glenturret Distillery, home of Famous Grouse, to toast your blind luck/ unerring skill.

The clue is in the name at 2 Golf Court (summer £850; December £490; sleeps 6) in Elie, Fife, with the back garden overlooking a nine-hole course. There are plenty of others - including St Andrews - in the vicinity, while for walkers, the Fife coastal route is practically on the doorstep.

Contact:www.whichcottage.com

COASTAL COTTAGES OF PEMBROKESHIRE

Good for:the clue’s in the name.

Times recommends

• How to get a cheap flight: just clear your cookies?
• The experts' guide to off-piste skiing
• The 12 best music festivals this spring