You don’t need to go abroad for an unusual holiday, says travel editor David Wickers. Reduce your carbon footprint by renting a UK property that offers something extra

All prices are for one week in June. Most properties offer short breaks off-season.

Additional words: Louise Chunn; Joanne Finney; Elisabeth Knowles; Emma Marsden; Ruth McCann. Photographs: Alamy; Jupiter

The charming flint cottage, down a farm track with nothing but fields on the horizon, is the perfect place to enjoy some peace and quiet. Hinders, which sleeps five, features a large inglenook woodburning stove, widescreen television, a south-facing terrace and garden, and a hand-built kitchen. Light the fire and enjoy a DVD or watch the stars from the slipper bath. If you’re feeling more energetic, the beautiful north Norfolk coast is 15 minutes away and you can bird-watch at Cley Marshes, see the seals at Blakeney or shop for antiques in Holt. Or just while away the hours in your very own beach hut, which sits on stilts overlooking the enormous swathe of sands at Holkham, one of the finest beaches in Britain (as seen in 'Shakespeare In Love'). It’s a cosy little escape containing chairs, a table and picnic facilities.

Hinders, Lower Green, Hindringham, Norfolk, from £755 based on four adults and one child sharing (Rural Retreats; 01386 701177; www.ruralretreats.co.uk).

Right in the thick of Forestry Commission land in the heart of the Trossachs National Park, with a 3,000-foot mountain range virtually on the doorstep, is a cluster of log cabins. There are lots of walks to be enjoyed in the region, including a stroll to the Falls of Leni, where Niagaras of water thunder into the gorge below.

Strathyre Forest Cabins, Callander, Perthshire, from £579 based on six sharing; 0845 130 8223; www.forest-holidays.com.

This three-bedroom apartment is on the top floor of a gracious Victorian mansion in a small, atmospheric village just outside Cornwall’s cultural hub, St Ives. The owners (who live below) run an art gallery and the rooms are comfortable, stylish and hung with local paintings. Two bedrooms wake every morning to a stunning sunrise over the Hayle Estuary. At the bottom of the garden, there’s a scenic railway that can take you into St Ives without the need to search for a car-parking space, or you can walk along the cliff tops for an hour, looking down on gorgeous sandy beaches until you reach the town.

In an area where the cottages are usually tiny and dark, this is a light-filled, genuinely spacious place, perfect for families. 

Riverside, Lelant, near St Ives, Cornwall, from £534 based on six sharing (Classic Cottages; 01326 555555; www.classic.co.uk).

Guests staying in one of the 12 honey-coloured stone Bruern cottages tucked away in a tiny Cotswold hamlet can enjoy a two or three-course meal cooked by husband-and-wife team Nicky and Ken Hall. Or, if they prefer, they can have their freezer filled with home-cooked delights, such as coq au vin and sticky toffee pudding. Breakfast is already catered for – on arrival the kitchen is stocked with all the basics (including homemade bread, cereal, eggs, milk, tea, coffee and jam), plus a bottle of champagne and a welcoming tray of biscuits and home-made cake. There’s also a spa with swimming pool, gym and various treatments on offer, plus free use of bikes to explore the surrounding chocolate-box Cotswold countryside. If the weather’s unkind, guests can make use of the well-equipped games room with pool table, darts, table football and table tennis, and there’s also a good library of videos and DVDs.

Bruern Cottages, Bruern, Oxfordshire, from £1,899 (based on two sharing – other cottages sleep up to 10), and from £7 for a main-course frozen meal for two (01993 830415; www.bruern.co.uk).

Owned by the nearby Groes Inn (so ideal for those who want to take the ‘self’ out of self-catering), the High Cabin is perched on a ridge high above the Conwy valley with views of Snowdonia. It sleeps two in a king-sized bed with a luxurious bathroom, Sky television and DVD player. There’s a decked, heated veranda with table and chairs, and a hot tub. As you sit in the bubbling cauldron you can watch buzzards wheel overhead. Privacy is total.

The High Cabin, near Conwy, North Wales, from £1,465 (01492 650545; www.groesinn.co.uk).

Originally an 18th-century grain mill, Bailey Mill is a small, unpretentious and friendly holiday complex that can arrange horse riding for novices or experienced riders along the miles of forested trails. Located in Scotland’s ‘Border Reiver’ country (the nearest neighbour is 400 metres away), there’s a choice of accommodation (sleeping two to nine) and guests can enjoy meals in the owners’ pub/post office. There’s also a sauna and Jacuzzi.

Bailey Mill, Newcastleton, from £198 based on two sharing (01697 748617; www.baileycottages-riding-racing.com).

No 9 is one of a group of very stylish stone and timber-clad lodges where two guests can enjoy full membership of the original St Mellion course (plus discounted green fees on the Jack Nicklaus championship course), plus use of the club’s 25-metre pool, gym and sauna. The lodge, which  can even be reached by private buggy path, has two twin bedrooms, a well-equipped kitchen and a patio with garden furniture and built-in barbecue.

9 Oakridge, St Mellion, Cornwall, from £524 based on six sharing (01548 853089; www.toadhallcottages.co.uk).

Downe is a collection of eight luxurious self-catering holiday cottages (sleeping two to six) situated on the Hartland Peninsula in North Devon in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with glorious sea views looking out to Lundy Island and the Atlantic. Guests can have breakfast baskets or fresh, locally cooked gourmet meals delivered to their cottage. Adjoining the cottages and sharing the overall tranquillity of the site is the Downe Health Spa, which offers a wide range of beauty treatments and holistic therapies. As well as facials, body wraps, manicures and pedicures, you can indulge in holistic therapies, which include a variety of aromatherapy massages, Indian head or sports massage, ear candling, reflexology and warm basalt stone therapy.

Downe Cottages, Hartland, North Devon, from £695 based on two sharing, and lots of weekend pamper-break options available (01237 441881; www.downecottages.com).

Built by Edwin Lutyens with room for a dozen guests and a large garden that he laid out with Gertrude Jekyll, Goddards was designed as a Home of Rest ‘to which ladies of small means might repair for holiday’. This explains the skittle alley, while the house’s historical importance explains why it’s open to the public on Wednesdays.

Goddards, Abinger Common, Surrey, from £4,320 based on 12 sharing (The Landmark Trust; 01628 825925; www.landmarktrust.org.uk).

The five-star Colloquy is a converted Victorian stable block on a 700-acre estate in Herefordshire. It comes with a squash court, heated pool, sauna and hot tub, all in a one-hectare walled garden. There are eight en-suite bedrooms, four sitting rooms, huge areas for dining and a mini-cinema. Dinner parties can be arranged and therapists, washer-uppers and nannies are all available.

The Colloquy, Lyonshall, Herefordshire, from £3,150 for 16 (01544 340241; www.thecolloquy.com).

Part of a manicured, gated community, built in New-England style – all Truman Show perfection with soft green grass, pastel-clad cottages, white-trimmed windows, picket fences and turrets – The Watermark development is a community of three and four-bedroom waterside lodges, just four miles from Cirencester. Spread over 540 acres, and covering six of the 140 stunning lakes that make up the Cotswold Water Park, The Watermark is a luxury development that offers much more than just barbecues on the deck and lazing about on comfy sofas , including water-skiing for anyone from absolute beginner to champion league. Guests can sign up for either conventional tows by boat or by cable, and up to nine people can be towed at the same time! It’s one of only six of its kind in Britain. Also on the sporting menu are golf, cycling, fishing, sailing, tennis, pony trekking, a health and fitness club, canoeing and membership of a local indoor swimming pool and spa. 

The Watermark, near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, from £625 for a lodge sleeping five to six (The Watermark; 01285 869031; www.watermarkclub.co.uk).