17 charming cottages to book now for winter holidays
From Devon to Cornwall, Scotland to the coast of Wales, there's something for everyone here in this edit of holiday cottages to rent and who doesn't want to spend an autumn or winter break in this most idyllic of British settings? Pick a Cotswolds cottage with a pub across the village, a secluded hideaway on the Isle of Skye or a picture perfect thatched cottage in Norfolk and get cosy by the fire, under the cocooning effect of beamed ceilings and lime wash walls. There's always a reason to book one of these cute cottages for a holiday but autumn and winter really make the most of an English countryside stay so get ahead of the game and get a date in now.
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Unique Homestays / David Curran1/17The Fable
For those who idealise the idea of a cottage but prefer a few more modern comforts, The Fable in Perranporth, Cornwall is the place to book. It's a collaborative effort between Unique Homestays and The White Company, meaning the interior is a neutral haven of calm, swathed in soft blankets and cosy sheepskins. A sunken hot tub makes the garden attractive no matter the weather, and there's a summerhouse too for keeping warm and dry while enjoying the garden. It's truly lovely and a luxury experience.
Where: Perranporth, Cornwall
Sleeps: 4 guests
Price: weekly stays from £1,695 and shorter breaks from £1,250
Dean Hearne2/17Oxfordshire
Alexandra Tolstoy's cottage is the archetypal country bolthole, filled with beams, flagstone floors and antiques. It opens onto a pretty, flower-filled cottage garden and plenty of walks to nearby pubs and villages. Inside, English and Welsh antiques fill the cosy rooms and the interior is truly delightful. Alexandra spent time restoring the cottage and reimplementing lime wash and all the aspects that give it its higgledy-piggledy charm.
Where: Oxfordshire
Sleeps: 6
Paul Massey3/17Ramsden
Well Cottage could just be the prettiest cottage in the Cotswolds, with utterly charming interiors by interior designer Laura Stephens, a very good local pub just down the road and enough bedrooms to easily accommodate six people. There are two living rooms, both with fires; one is more of a snug and the other an airy space for reading a book. Both open onto a light-filled farmhouse-style kitchen that will be the focal point of your stay. The bedrooms are equally lovely, though the master does have a bath in it which is an added extra that we loved. All in all, it's the type of cottage you wish you owned. It's on the eastern edge of the Cotswolds, so close to London and Oxford.
Where: Ramsden, Oxfordshire
Sleeps: 6 guests
Price: £300 per night
4/17Bridge Cottage
Bridge Cottage is a hidden gem in Devon, built from local materials and every inch as lovely inside as it is from the outside. There's a double bedroom and a single upstairs, with a kitchen-diner and cosy living room with a fire below. The interiors are simple and homely and truly make the most of the cottage lifestyle. Woolacombe, Barnstaple and Bude are all in easy striking distance, or there are many coastal walks to enjoy nearby.
Where: Peppercombe, North Devon
Sleeps: 3 guests
Price: £258 per four nights
5/17Inkwell Cottage
Made from the same honey stone that characterises the prettiest cottages in the Cotswolds, this two bedroom abode is a delight. It's within the village of Burford in the area's AONB and is surrounded by lovely walks, pretty villages and plenty of things to keep you entertained in Burford itself. There are exposed beams, huge fireplaces and all the textiles you need to make it cosy as can be when you repair back after a walk in the local fields.
Where: Burford, Oxfordshire
Sleeps: 2 guests
Price: From £995 per week, £750 per short break
6/17Stiffkey
There are few places as lovely as this 18th-century brick and flint cottage, with a staircase leading from the airy living space up to the master suite, complete with a tub in the bedroom. There's an adjoining shower room too and well-equipped compact kitchen off the living space. What's more, it's very close to Stiffkey's popular Red Lion pub and of course, being on Norfolk's north coast, the sea. What better way to spend a day than a windswept walk on the beach, fish and chips and then drying off by the fire with a glass of wine?
Where: Stiffkey, Norfolk
Sleeps: 2 guests
Price: From £134 per night
7/17Home Farm
Minutes from the Cornish coast in the midst of woodland, this five bedroom house is absolutely charming and the cosiest place to hunker down on a chilly evening. The more formal living room has a roaring fire in a marble fireplace, while the snug is an inviting bolt hole for curling up on the sofa with a book. It's the best of both worlds as it has all the feel of a cottage but with a little more space to spread out in.
Where: Porthleven, Cornwall
Sleeps: 10 guests
Price: From £2,173 for a long weekend or midweek break
8/17Bush Cottage
Bush Cottage sits in a lovely Shropshire valley, with pubs less than an hour's walk away – the perfect distance for a bracing stroll before warming by the fire. Inside, it's as characterful as they come with skirted sofas and wood panelling. The exterior is a pretty as they come, and the interior is replete with wooden, beamed ceilings and limewash walls. It's an idyll, but it is compact and the kitchen is especially diminutive.
Where: Bridgnorth, Shropshire
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
Price: £214 per four nights
AirBnB9/17Capel Iwan
Rural Carmarthenshire is a well sought out holiday spot and for good reason. Within the area, this is one of the best rentals, fusing modernist architecture with cottage charm. It's an extended cottage with a new section added on and has been sympathetically furnished to suit both sides of its persona – brutalism and rural living.
Where: Capel Iwan, Wales
Sleeps: 6 guests
Price: From £79 per night
10/17Coastal Cottage
With the coastal path of Ceredigion on the doorstep and a rustic, beamed interior inside, this cottage is the dream for a winter weekend. Windswept walks on the beach followed by tea and cake by the woodburner – it sounds quite dreamy. Unlike many cottages, the living space is single storey and so benefits from a soaring, vaulted ceiling and exposed roof joists. The bedrooms are then on either side, tucked into mezzanine levels to keep them cosy and cocooning while affording more space to spread out downstairs.
Where: Ceredigion, Wales
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
Price: From £80/night
11/17The Crofter's House
The wild landscape of the Isle of Skye is enough of a draw on its own but when you add in this traditional cottage as lodgings, it's too hard to resist. The interior is soothingly clad in white beadboard, allowing the views to shine. A log burner keeps the cold at bay for when you return from bracing walks.
Where: Portree, Syke
Sleeps: 2 guests
Price: From £100/night
12/17Wighton
Between Little Walsingham and Wells-next-the-Sea, this pretty cottage is perfectly situated in Norfolk's green pastures for a seaside and walking holiday. With a village pub next door, it has all you could want from a British holiday, including a large private garden and sympathetic interiors.
Where: Wighton, Norfolk
Sleeps: 2 guests
Price: From £79 per night
Airbnb13/17Furnace
This is how to do a rustic retreat in style. Looking out over Loch Fyne – the views are best enjoyed from the outdoor hot tub, terrace or roll top bath – Ploughman’s Cottage has sympathetic interiors that give a country feel but ample space, with a vast bedroom and bathroom, as well as generous living spaces. It’s a real find.
Where: Furnace, Argyll & Bute
Sleeps: 2 guests
Price: From £225 per night
14/17The Riddle
This two bedroom house sits on the picturesque village green of North Bovey in Dartmoor and is certainly one of the nicest of the thatched cottages in the village. Moors, glades and sheep-strewn fields surround it, with the village pub just across the green.
Where: Dartmoor, Devon
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
Price: From £1,495 per week, £1,095 per short break
15/17Sweetpea Cottage
This cottage is a perfect mix of old and new, with modern appliances in the kitchen and bathroom and chintz curtains throughout. Located in a hamlet, it's a few miles inland from Crantock, Porth and Newquay for seaside days out.
Where: Kestle Mill, Crantock, Cornwall
Sleeps: Up to 2 guests
Price: from £795 per week, £595 per short break
16/17Faerie Door Cottage
Faerie Door Cottage appears to be plucked straight from the pages of a book. The village of West Overton provides an idyllic village setting but really, you won't want to leave once you've lit the fire or soaked in the roll top bath. If you do though, there's a wonderful pub two miles away that serves a cracking roast.
Where: West Overton, Wiltshire
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
Price: From £995 per week, £795 per short break
17/17Lustleigh
It doesn't get more picture perfect than this chocolate box cottage in what The Telegraph described as one of England's loveliest villages. Inside, it's every bit as lovely with soft grey walls and original beams in the bedroom, and a cosy dark blue in the snug living room. The cottage sleeps two and is perfectly roomy for longer stays.
Where: Lustleigh, Devon
Sleeps: 2 guests
Price: From £125 per night
