If regular hotels don't quite cut it - check these out from  the National Trust 

East Cottage, Kent

This former lighthouse keeper’s cottage is in one of the most dramatic spots in England,  and is the UK’s closest point to France. Attached to the lighthouse, and right on top of the white cliffs of Dover, the cottage  has amazing views across the English Channel to the coast of France.

Sleeps four

East Cottage, Three nights from arround  £822,

Shute Barton, Devon

If you're in the market for a  group weekend in grand style, Shute Barton  is crammed with original features, including 17th century panelling, a great hall with a 15th century original 'collar beam' ( reached by a tiny spiral staircase), and one of the largest fireplaces in the UK, designed to fit two roasting  oxen.  Bedrooms have  antique beds and original medieval lead windows giving  views  which have barely changed over the centuries.

Sleeps ten

Shute Barton, Three nights from around  £2149 

The Birdcage, Port Isaac, Cornwall

Above the higgledy-piggledy streets of old Port Isaac, the quirky, pentagonal, Grade II-listed Birdcage sleeps just two.  200 years old, with  three floors and  a terrace reached through the bathroom, this former cobbler's shop has tiny rooms and a staircase that tapers down to just over a foot wide in places- so if you're tall  and long-legged,  you may find it a bit snug. 

Sleeps two

The Birdcage, Three nights from around  £599 

Quay Cottage, Truro, Cornwall

Photo: Mike Henton

Stay right on the  water's edge in this pretty cottage, built on King Harry Quay, where there has been a chain-ferry crossing over  the River Fal for centuries. The present  ferry runs daily from 7am - 9pm and gives  access to the lovely Roseland peninsula. You get your own private quay so hire a boat locally, and you can row off for river bank picnics.

Quay Cottage, Three nights from around  £1,099,

Choristers' House, Yorkshire

Wildlife fans will love this one: as you can watch  herds of deer roaming  practically up to the front door. Set in an ancient 400 acre park, this imposing house, built as a music shcool  in 1873,  makes for another very grand weekend retreat. 

Sleeps ten

Chorister's House, Three nights from around £1,290,