Book your great British summer

Cornwall
Sleeps 6
Poldark has turned the spotlight on Bodmin Moor, and Blackadon Farm Cottage, in Bolventor, offers 360-degree views of its wild landscape. The enormous stone fireplace in the sitting room provides dramatic focus for the cottage — perfect for brooding beside after a hard day’s hiking. Alternatively, switch authors and head for a pint at Jamaica Inn: the pub immortalised by Daphne du Maurier is just two miles down the road.
From £831; sykescottages.co.uk

Go boat-spotting in Falmouth at the Old Quay House

Cornwall
Sleeps 7
The Old Quay House sits in a prime position to watch the world sail in and out of Falmouth harbour. It’s sandwiched between Custom House and King Charles quays, so from every window of its three storeys you are rewarded with eyefuls of gleaming yachts, tall ships and fishermen’s boats. The decor is as bright and breezy as the surroundings.
From £2,170; stayincornwall.co.uk

Act quickly to book Tonga, in Cornwall

Cornwall
Sleeps 8
A villa this good, built into the hillside above Porthtowan Beach, would usually be booked up a year in advance. The reason why Tonga has availability is that it has only just come onto the market. Rest assured, though, Instagram will soon be full of shots of the view from the floor-to-ceiling windows in its sitting room, and terraces that fold into the clifftop and catch both sunrise and sunset. Even Nigella would covet its high-spec kitchen, so rustling up supper won’t be a hardship.
From £2,770; cornishhorizons.co.uk

Cornwall
Sleeps 8
Dreamcatcher’s ornate stained-glass windows and gallery, now part of the master bedroom, are spectacular reminders of its previous incarnation as a Wesleyan chapel. If you need another excuse to visit, nearby Penzance will unveil its restored art-deco lido in May, with jaw-dropping views to St Michael’s Mount.
From £2,994; boutique-retreats.co.uk

Devon
Sleeps 4
Stevenstone manor is now a romantic ruin, but The Library, a dainty pavilion in its landscaped gardens, has been returned to its 18th-century finery throughout its double bedroom, bathroom, fully equipped kitchen and fantastic upstairs sitting room. And though its rooms are no longer lined with leatherbound tomes, the restoration team has built an eye-catching bookcase into its spiral staircase. At night, stroll 100ft across the lawn to The Library’s companion building, The Orangery, now converted into a striking second bedroom. Pop into nearby Great Torrington to stock up on provisions.
From £1,251; landmarktrust.org

Devon
Sleeps 4
Convention dictates that living spaces are downstairs and bedrooms upstairs, but by flipping the usual layout, The Boat House, in Kingsbridge, ensures guests get to soak up fantastic views of one of the country’s most photogenic estuaries all day long. The huge open-plan kitchen, dining and living room also comes with a balcony — the ideal spot for a G&T.
From £1,281; bluechipholidays.co.uk

Cottages don’t come more cottagey than Honeyford, in Devon

Devon
Sleeps 6
Cottages do not come cuter than this ivy-clad thatched number, with its low beams, wonky floors and doorways designed for the diminutive. Honeyford Cottage (ref A229) even has chickens pecking at the lawn and ducks swimming in the pond. Add three acres of seclusion, Dartmoor on the doorstep and Drewsteignton’s village shop and pub just a mile away, and you’re well set for the week.
From £1,186; helpfulholidays.com

Devon
Sleeps 14
Strode House will keep the peace among big groups who can’t decide on a beach or a walking holiday. From the town of Modbury, it’s an easy drive to the sandy coves of Mothecombe and Bigbury-on-Sea, as well as to the trails of Dartmoor. And if some in the party would rather just stay at home, the grand Georgian manor offers a well-stocked games room and 2½ tree-filled acres.
From £3,901; toadhallcottages.co.uk

Somerset
Sleeps 7
Grade I listed Castle House is part of the courtyard of Taunton’s imposing 12th-century castle, and is probably where Judge Jeffreys stayed when he presided over the town’s Bloody Assizes in 1685. He would certainly have visited its beamed Tudor Room, with vaulted ceiling and a door leading through to the tower. So remember that impressive heritage if you trip on an original floorboard or hit your head on a low lintel.
From £1,233; classic.co.uk

Somerset
Sleeps 9
The cocktail bar at Number 36 is a reminder that the house used to be Axbridge’s Red Lion pub. This quirky feature is typical of the place, which has rooms sprinkled with collectables and artworks. On one floor there is also a library with 4,000 books, but who’s going to read when the place comes with its own cinema, the Roxy?
£350 a night; airbnb.co.uk

Dorset
Sleeps 6
The restoration of The Wellhouse was a labour of love for the award-winning furniture-maker James Verner. The serene, minimalist space is filled with his exquisite pieces, created to complement views over a lake and 15 acres of woodland. If you don’t want to mess up the pristine kitchen, the pubs and restaurants of Lyme Regis are a 10-minute walk away.
From £1,955; sawdays.co.uk

Gloucestershire
Sleeps 4-8
JRR Tolkien is said to have based Middle-earth’s forests on the mossy woodlands of Puzzlewood, a private park in the Forest of Dean. Its 14 acres of oaks and beech have also starred in Doctor Who and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The three simple cottages on site don’t try to compete with the great outdoors, but they do come with out-of-hours access to Puzzlewood’s pathways — without the crowds.
From £650 for four, £1,100 for eight; puzzlewood.net

Wiltshire
Sleeps 6
Castle Combe could not be more English if Miss Marple were on the parish council. The 16th-century, wisteria-clad Well Cottage sits above the village and is a tick-list of countryside clichés, thanks to its stone floors, sloping ceilings, beams and a cosy inglenook fireplace that’s so appealing, you’ll hope for bad weather just so you can light the stove.
From £1,081; cottages.com

West Sussex
Sleeps 14
The New England Beach House is a celebration of the seaside, its interiors styled with driftwood and pebbles, but don’t spend the whole time indoors. The beachfront deck is huge, with sun loungers and squidgy sofas, and a barbecue for alfresco dining. There’s also a palm garden with a hot tub that leads directly to the pebble beach at Angmering-on-Sea.
From £7,875; homeaway.co.uk

East Sussex
Sleeps 7
Hummingbird House, near Lewes, is as photogenic as its most famous former resident, the Edwardian music-hall star Lily Elsie. The cosy sitting room has an open fire, beams and exposed brickwork, there is hand-carved oak throughout, and a four-oven Aga means that even cooking is a pleasure. The gazebo and hot tub in its two-acre magical garden take care of evening entertainment.
From £2,250; uniquehomestays.com

Suffolk
Sleeps 8
Wrought-iron gates and a gravel drive lead up to this Georgian mansion in Saxmundham. Even though you only have the east wing of Fairfield House, you’ll cope, thanks to four floors with enough space for a vast bespoke oak kitchen, an elegant sitting room, a playroom and a TV room tucked into an old vaulted cellar. You probably won’t need the gogglebox, though, as there is also a heated indoor pool, and Aldeburgh and Southwold’s beaches are within easy reach.
From £1,945; cottageholidays.co.uk

Norfolk
Sleeps 4
A 1940s jukebox is one of the fittings in 400-year-old Reclaim Cottage; the original features include an inglenook fireplace in the sitting room, complete with baker’s oven. The garden is a suntrap and Colkirk is a reassuringly sleepy village, but Wells-next-the-Sea is only 30 minutes in the car if you crave company.
From £611; norfolkcottages.co.uk

Live the life octagonal in Cromer’s Mustard Pot

Norfolk
Sleeps 4
The Mustard Pot’s octagonal sitting room and bedroom, the latter reached via a narrow, winding suitcase, add charm to this Cromer cottage, while the conservatory is a great place for breakfast before a constitutional in the surrounding woodlands of the Felbrigg estate. A stay includes free entry to the 17th-century Felbrigg Hall and its lovely walled garden.
From £1,123; nationaltrustholidays.org.uk

Pembrokeshire
Sleeps 5
Rover is not only welcome at Glantawel, a swanky, newly renovated stone cottage outside Newport, he’ll also get a pat on the head at the nearby dog-friendly beach and a bowl of water at the local pub. For his walks, the property is surrounded by 30 acres of woodland.
From £1,525; experience-mor.org

Carmarthenshire
Sleeps 3
Ty Unnos (“One Night House”) gets its name from the 17th-century tradition that anyone who could build a croft between sunrise and sunset could claim the freehold of the land. That might ring alarm bells as to the workmanship, but this modern-day cottage outside Carmarthen is pure quality. It has a stylish, if basic, open-plan living space, with limewashed walls, Welsh antique furnishings and a sleeping loft on a mezzanine. Thankfully, the bathroom is reassuringly 21st century.
From £311; thewelshhouse.co.uk

Shropshire
Sleeps 10
Anyone suffering from Downton withdrawal can get an aristocratic fix at this Elizabethan stately home. Harlequin Manor, in Bridgnorth, comes with elaborate murals, gold-leafed coffered ceilings and oak-panelled walls. Draw lots for the Great Chamber bedroom, which dates back to 1380 and has a grand tester bed and oak-beamed ceiling — even Carson would be impressed.
From £3,750; uniquehomestays.com

Stay in the working Flour Mill, near Boston

Lincolnshire
Sleeps 2
During the day, you can just about hear the sails turn and the gentle rumble of machinery at The Flour Mill, a hideaway within the county’s tallest working mill. There’s a surprisingly spacious living room and a little patio for sunbathing. The small market town of Boston is just down the canal towpath.
From £530; thelittledomain.com

Yorkshire
Sleeps 18
Middleham Hall has so much space that not only can you accommodate your extended family, but there’s also enough elbow room to avoid any relatives you’re not so keen on. The airy Georgian dimensions create a sense of bygone grandeur, reinforced by the ancestral portraits hanging in the dining and drawing rooms. Keep evening entertainment traditional, too, by playing billiards in the newly restored games room.
From £5,562; oliverstravels.com

Cumbria
Sleeps 8
Walkers are spoilt for choice at Bretherdale Hall: set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty outside Kendal, it’s perfectly sited for hikes in both the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales. Externally, it looks like a traditional farmhouse, but welcome modern additions include underfloor heating and a smart spa with a sauna and steam room.
From £1,410; cumbrian-cottages.co.uk

Kayak from your own private jetty at Lake Windermere Lodge

Cumbria
Sleeps 10
Summer traffic moves at the speed of a dying tortoise in these parts, but the location of Lake Windermere Lodge, on the prized eastern shore of Cumbria’s most popular expanse of water, means you don’t have to bother with the car once you’ve arrived. The lodge has rustic-chic interiors, with lots of exposed stone, chunky oak pillars and faux-fur throws. Its own private jetty means you can kayak straight from the bottom of its one-acre garden.
From £9,445; thewowhousecompany.co.uk

Northumberland
Sleeps 10
Originally part of the estate owned by the shipping merchant and philanthropist Sir William Burrell, Hutton Castle Coach House is the bolthole for the angling fraternity. It is in Berwick-upon-Tweed, within easy reach of several excellent salmon beats on the River Tweed, although cheats can always snap up bargain salmon, lobster and scallops from the fishermen on Berwick’s quayside. After your fish supper, retire to the smart sitting room, complete with grand piano.
From £1,800; crabtreeandcrabtree.com

Your mobile’s no use at Glenceitlein, in Argyll

Argyll
Sleeps 4
If you cannot live without TV, wi-fi and a mobile signal, move along now. All Glenceitlein Cottage has to offer is simply furnished rooms, a good supply of well-thumbed books and board games, and the mesmerising sight of Glen Etive’s misty peaks unfolding before your eyes all the way to Glencoe. You’ll probably have to leave your car a 20-minute walk away on the main road, too — only 4x4s and SUVs can make it down the last bit of track.
From £650; unique-cottages.co.uk

Trad meets modern in The Big House, on Harris

JOHN MAHER

Outer Hebrides
Sleeps 2-4
From the outside, The Big House and neighbouring The Other House, on Harris, are modern reinterpretations of the classic croft, but the interiors sport trendy midcentury furniture by Ercol and G-plan, as well as plenty of the island’s famous tweed. You can try your hand at weaving on the owner’s newly installed loom, or stick to casting a line: less than 50yd away there’s a great spot for pollock fishing.
From £950; soundof harris.co.uk

Unless stated, prices are for the whole property for a week in the school summer holidays. All properties had summer availability at time of going to press