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,