The Landmark Trust (01628 825925; www.landmarktrust.org.uk)
A new property expected to be available in 2011 is Cowside, a 17th-century
farmhouse in the Yorkshire Dales that has spectacular viewsm and sleeps
five. This will add to the existing portfolio of 183 historic properties
available for weekly and short-break lets.
National Trust Holiday Cottages (0844 800 2070; www.nationaltrustcottages.co.uk)
Cottages, apartments and farmhouses; more than 380 properties in all. The
newest include Shute Barton near Axminster, partly dating from 1380 and
sleeping 10, at £3,099 for a peak week. Also Troytes Farmhouse on the
Holnicote Estate near Exmoor, sleeping eight, at £1,539 in August.
National Trust for Scotland (0844 493 2108; www.nts.org.uk)
About 70 properties, including a handful of rural “base camps”
suitable for large groups. New for 2011 is the O’Neill Flat in Edinburgh,
which sleeps four and has good views of the Royal Mile (it also has a steep
staircase); from £400 a week. Also new is Belmont House in Shetland (sleeps
up to 12); from £700.
Vivat Trust (0845 090 0194; www.vivat.org.uk)
Four new properties for 2011 include a former Civil War arms store in North
Norfolk (sleeping five), a gatehouse at Polesworth Abbey in Warwickshire,
converted into two apartments (sleeps two and four) and an Edwardian folly
in Essex (sleeping four). Also new is a converted observatory house in
Edinburgh (sleeping up to eight), which costs from £1,074 to £1,990 per
week. The trust has about 25 properties in all.
Nationwide agencies
Our selection
CV Travel (020 7401 1086; www.cvtravel.co.uk)
Although only launched recently, this company’s UK collection now numbers
more than 75, including three newly-introduced houses in Sussex, Wiltshire
and the Scottish Highlands. Howards End, near Chippenham, is a
three-bedroom, stone-built cottage in Wiltshire with a kitchen garden and
large grounds. It sleeps up five people and costs from £1,500 a week.
Rural Retreats (01386 701177; www.ruralretreats.co.uk)
More than 400 properties, with 55 new additions for 2011. One of the
smallest is Barnacles on the waterfront in Fowey, Cornwall (sleeps two);
from £277 for three nights. Wall Hills Barn in Herefordshire (sleeps 12), a
good choice for reunions or celebrations, costs from £732 for three nights.
Unique Homestays (01637 881942; www.uniquehomestays.com)
Small but select portfolio. New properties for 2011 include Romansleigh in
South Molton, Devon, with outdoor pool. It sleeps up to eight and costs from
£1,150 to £2,695 a week. Colenso House, near Helston, Cornwall, also sleeps
eight, at £2,300 for a peak August week.
Other options
Blandings (020 7936 9611; www.blandings.co.uk)
Discreet, upmarket agency with a large number of staffed country houses,
some with indoor pools and tennis courts. Rates and standards are high.
Cottages4you (0845 268 0760; www.cottages4you.co.uk)
Part of the Hoseasons Group, one of Britain’s biggest providers of
self-catering holiday accommodation, with a portfolio of more than 27,000
properties spread over all regions. Other brands within the group are
English, Welsh and Scottish Country Cottages. Also Welcome Cottages (www.welcomecottages.com).
Rosie Sutherland Villas (01285 721006; www.rosiesutherlandvillas.com)
Upmarket houses in the Cotswolds, Oxfordshire and Scotland. Additional
properties in Gloucestershire are planned for 2011. Expect to pay from
£2,500 to £4,000 per week for a house sleeping up to 12 people in Scotland.
Sykes Holiday Cottages (01244 356666; www.sykescottages.co.uk)
More than 2,000 cottages throughout Britain, though mostly in England.
Travelzest’s The Wow House Company (0800 171 2156; www.thewowhousecompany.com)
Has a collection of just over 30 properties, including the newly introduced
Plas Cilybebyll near Port Talbot, accommodating 18 guests, with indoor
swimming pool, domed garden folly and tennis court. From £3,600 (two nights’
minimum stay) with daily housekeeping.
The West Country
Our selection
Beach Retreats (01637 861005; www.beachretreats.co.uk)
As its name suggests, cottages and apartments are on or close to good
beaches. Prices start at about £650 a week for a two-bedroom apartment.
Blue Chip Holidays (0844 704 4987; www.bluechipholidays.co.uk)
Portfolio has grown by 25 per cent this year to 800 properties across
Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset – as well as Wales and the Isle of
Wight. The New Forest and Cotswolds will be added in 2011. Singleton Manor,
a five-bedroom, listed Victorian house in Torquay with indoor pool and baby
grand piano, costs from £1,279 a week.
Boutique Retreats (01872 553 491; www.boutique-retreats.co.uk)
Tiny but expanding company with half a dozen enticing properties for two in
Cornwall. New for 2011 is The Loft in Mousehole, a former net loft with
original character enhanced by contemporary furnishing; £750 for a week in
summer.
Classic Cottages (01326 555 555; www.classic.co.uk)
Large choice of properties in popular West Country locations. A week’s stay
at Little Bessemer (sleeps two), in the village of Berrynarbor, with a
pretty garden and small stream, starts at £306. A family-sized converted
barn, Bolankan View (sleeps four), in West Cornwall costs from £333.
Hideaways (01747 828170; www.hideaways.co.uk)
A long-established company with nearly 200 high-quality mostly older,
traditional-style homes spread across southern England (Cotswolds, Welsh
Borders and West Country) for groups of up to 20, some with indoor pool.
Prices start at £281 a week for a simple two-person cabin with views of the
Dart valley on Dartmoor in Devon.
Other West Country options
Coast Country Cottages (01548 843773; www.coastandcountry.co.uk)
Big choice of apartments, cottages and larger houses. New for 2011 is Sea
Peep, a recently built detached house close to Thurlestone, sleeping up to
eight, Weekly rent from £675.
Cornish Cottages (01326 240333; www.cornishcottagesonline.com)
More than 200 reasonably priced properties throughout Cornwall, many
accepting dogs, providing sea views and accessible to disabled guests.
Cornwall’s Cottages (01872 264441; www.cornwallscottages.co.uk)
The portfolio has more than doubled since last year to more than 110
properties. Good choice in areas such as the Roseland Peninsula, Lizard and
near the Eden Project.
Cornish Traditional Cottages (01208 821666, www.corncott.com)
About 250 reasonably priced properties mostly on or near the coast.
Farm and Cottage Holidays (01237 459889; www.holidaycottages.co.uk)
Some 1,200 inspected properties in Somerset, Devon, Dorset and Cornwall,
catering for everyone from couples to groups of 22.
Helpful Holidays (01647 434063; www.helpfulholidays.com)
Nearly 600 properties in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset, accommodating
from two to 37 guests with prices ranging from £145 to £7,688. Among the
best new houses for 2011 is the romantic Georgian Bathing House on the River
Dart in South Devon, sleeping two; from £338 per week.
John Bray Cornish Holidays (01208 863206; www.johnbraycornishholidays.co.uk)
A long-standing local specialist with more than 250 holiday cottages in
north Cornwall – particularly strong in Daymer Bay, Polzeath, Rock and Port
Isaac.
Powells Cottage Holidays (01834 812791; www.powells.co.uk)
Properties by the sea, pet-friendly and with pools in Cornwall, Devon, South
Wales and the Cotswolds.
Toad Hall Cottages (01548 853089; www.toadhallcottages.co.uk)
Has added more than 70 properties to its portfolio of West Country options,
ranging from small retreats for couples to luxury houses for big groups (one
cluster of cottages can sleep up to 70). New for 2011 is Holemoor Cottage,
near Bude, sleeping five, with heated indoor pool and children’s play area
available. The rent is from £424 to £1,143 a week.
Travel Smith’s Breaks in Cornwall (01621 784666; www.breaksincornwall.com)
Offers cottages, apartments, leisure parks and, new for 2011, golf breaks
close to courses at Newquay and Merlin, near Mawgan Porth. One of its most
recent additions is Porth Cottage, 100 yards from the beach in Porth, with
prices starting at £300 for a four-night stay for four people.
Northern eastern England
Our selection
Best of Suffolk (01728 638962; www.bestofsuffolk.co.uk)
Has expanded to include properties in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. Spaldings
Farm (sleeping eight), in Framsden, a 40-minute drive from Aldeburgh and
Southwold, is one of the latest additions, costing £1,640 for a peak August
week.
Cumbrian Cottages (01228 599960; www.cumbrian-cottages.co.uk)
A new addition to its 900 properties is Devonshire House in Cartmel, close
to Cartmel Priory and the famous Sticky Toffee Pudding shop. Oak floors and
exposed beams are complemented by contemporary furniture. Sleeping up to
eight, it costs from £890 to £1,390 a week.
Norfolk Hideaways (01485 211 022, www.norfolkhideaways.co.uk)
Good choice of highly specified properties accommodating from two to 14,
particularly in sought-after areas such as Burnham Market and Brancaster. It
also has places inland, such as the newly introduced Woodpecker Cottage, a 400-year-old property in Sedgeford (sleeping four), from £330 to £660 per
week.
Yorkshire Cottages (01228 406701; www.yorkshire-cottages.info)
Has added four self-contained barn-style conversions – Basin Howe Farm
Cottages near Scarborough – to its portfolio of around 400 homes in the
Dales, Moors and Wolds. These cost from £330 a week (sleeping four).
Other options in northern and eastern England
Heart of the Lakes (01539 432321; www.heartofthelakes.co.uk)
One of this company’s most popular properties, newly available again for
2011, is Wansfell, sleeping eight, near Ambleside, at £1,495 for peak July
and August weeks.
Kett Country Cottages (01328 856853; www.kettcountrycottages.co.uk)
Around 150 properties in prime Norfolk spots along the coast and in the
rural backwaters, many used by owners and let out in between times.
Norfolk Country Cottages (01603 871872; www.norfolkcottages.co.uk)
Newly introduced properties for 2011 are available in Stiffkey, Cromer and
Old Hunstanton. Expect to pay from around £350 a week for a
traditional-style, family-sized cottage.
Peak Cottages (0114 262 0777; www.peakcottages.com)
One of the top specialists in the Peak District National Park and near by.
Latest additions include Pilsbury Grange Cottage, sleeping four, close to
the Dove and Manifold Valleys, and a good walking base for families with
older children. Prices range from £371 to £580 per week.
Shoreline Cottages (01904 607087; www.shoreline-cottages.com)
Choice of 26 apartments and cottages in and around Whitby, sleeping from two
to nine people.
Scotland Wales
Our selection
Brecon Beacons Holiday Cottages (01874 676446; www.breconcottages.com)
More than 300 cottages in picturesque corners of the Brecon Beacons and
Black Mountains National Park. Cilwych Cottages in Brecon, on a large estate
by the Usk, accommodates up to 20 people.
Cottages Castles (01463 226990; www.cottagesandcastles.co.uk)
Scottish specialist. New for 2011 are plenty of large houses for big groups.
The pick of the bunch is a mill conversion, Machrimore Mill, close to
beaches on the Mull of Kintyre (sleeping up to eight), from £700 a week.
Also lets out National Trust for Scotland properties.
Other Scotland Wales options
Coastal Cottages of Pembrokeshire (01437 772760; www.coastalcottages.co.uk)
Huge choice of properties in and around the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path
National Park. This year there is a “coastal concierge” team to
book activities and restaurants, plus a meal-ordering service.
Ecosse Unique (01835 822277; www.unique-cottages.co.uk)
Tiny bolt holes introduced for 2011 include Devonside Bothy, sleeping two,
five miles from Lanark, with good views and plenty of local walks. Prices
from £250 to £385. Houses for larger groups are also available across the
region.
Scottish Cottages (01228 406731; www.scottish-cottages.co.uk)
Has expanded by nearly a third to offer more than 350 holiday homes this
year. New for 2011 are Jura and Giga Apartments, set in Muasdale House, on
the west coast, with spectacular views towards Cara, Gigha, Islay and Jura.
An ideal spot for fishing, sea kayaking, walking and birdwatching. A week’s
rental for “Jura” (sleeping five) costs from £310 to £600.
Booking direct
Companies specialising in properties in Britain include:
The Cottage Collection (www.the-cottage-collection.co.uk)
Properties in the most sought-after regions.
Premier Cottages Direct (www.premiercottages.com)
Features properties graded four-star and five-star by tourist boards, many
with indoor or outdoor pools.
Stilwell’s Cottages Direct (www.cottagesdirect.co.uk)
Usefully lists properties sharing the same site, suitable for large groups
of family or friends.
Family specialists include Baby Friendly Boltholes (www.babyfriendlyboltholes.co.uk)
and Child Friendly Cottages (www.childfriendlycottages.co.uk).
For a reliable selection of inspected self-catering cottages, see the
website of Alastair Sawday (www.special-escapes.co.uk).