Do you love a weekend away but have had your fill of interchangeable hotel rooms? For those of us looking for an original take on holiday accommodation, try this adventurous selection including lighthouses, log cabins and even a gypsy caravan and head into the wild...

If you go down to the woods today, you're in for a cosy surprise. Three Forestry Commission domains - in North Yorkshire, Cornwall and Strathyre in Scotland - are now home to pine-built holiday cabins. In the heart of the scenic forest of Strathyre's Trossachs National Park, there's a choice of Standard, Superior or VIP cabins with two or three bedrooms and a veranda (VIP cabins have hot tubs and wood-burning stoves). The surrounding ‘Rob Roy country' is ideal for hill walkers, with an almost 3,000-foot ascent to the summit of Ben Ledi.
Price: from £113, Forest Holidays (0845 130 8223; www.forestholidays.co.uk).

This classic Edwardian boathouse on the Thames at Taplow has been converted with flair into a studio hideaway for two. As well as 180° views of the river, there's a private deck with barbecue. The interior has exposed beams, wooden floors, skylights in the vaulted ceiling, a flat-screen television and whirlpool bath.
Price: from £510 (01628 630249; www.thelittledomain.com).

Miller's Oast has grand views over the surrounding Sussex countryside and is one of several oast houses where guests have taken the place of hops. It includes a circular sitting room and sleeps four - one bedroom used to be occupied by an old bull! The house is two miles from Battle and only a short drive from Hastings, beaches and the castles at Pevensey and Sissinghurst.
Price: from £337 (0870 902 3117; www.hoseasons.co.uk)

The 200-year-old House of Correction in Folkingham, Lincolnshire, was intended for minor offenders such as ‘the idle' - regarded as subversive elements of society! The accommodation, which sleeps up to four, lies behind the original entrance. It's just one of some 180 historic buildings available for rent through The Landmark Trust.  
Price: from £347, The Landmark Trust (01628 825925; www.landmarktrust.org.uk).

Looking for all the world like a pint-size castle, Lennon's Lodge sleeps two, has views of the Wicklow Mountains, and has two heritage-listed estate cottages as neighbours (so it's perfect for a small party who want a measure of independence). Located in splendid parkland, it's ideal for walkers, fishing folk and golfers.
Price: from £148 for Lennon's Lodge only, Irish Country Cottages (08700 781600; www.irish-country-cottages.co.uk)

Sitting on a stretch of disused railway track by the River Severn in Shropshire's Ironbridge Gorge, this restored carriage is now a luxurious three-bedroom, two-bathroom, self-catering property. There's air conditioning, a well-equipped kitchen and whirlpool bath, as well as a plasma television and DVD player. Good pubs are just a stroll away. Commuting will never be the same again!   
Price: from £395 (01952 591575; www.coalportstation.com).

The gypsy caravan is situated in the nook of a field with a view of the foothills of the romantic Black Mountains. It sleeps two under a cosy goose eiderdown, with hot water bottles and heater, and - here's the really soft part - comes with an adjacent shack with power shower, mini kitchen and living room with coal stove.

For urban getaways, the Serviced Apartment Company (SACO) has opened 43 luxury studio, one and two-bedroom apartments in a restored Grade II-listed Georgian terrace in the heart of Bath. The Thermae Bath Spa, Britain's only natural hot mineral water spa, is round the corner, while the Roman Baths are a stroll away.
Price: from £413 for a studio, SACO (0845 122 0405; www.sacoapartments.co.uk).

Designed along authentic Native American lines, these 18-foot-tall tepees stand on a private nature reserve in rural Cornwall, near Port Isaac. Each comes equipped with a cooking stove, and sleeps either two/three or six. Tepees are available between April and October. There's also a lake for boating, swimming and fishing.
Price: from £410 for two/three; £480 for six, plus £25pp (01208 880781; www.cornish-tipi-holidays.co.uk).

Stella, a former lighthouse keeper's cottage at Nash Point, on the Glamorgan coast of Wales, is one of a dozen Trinity House lighthouses dotted around the country now available for rent. The lighthouse is still fully functioning but has no foghorn, so up to five guests can sleep soundly - even during a peasouper!
Price: from £525, Rural Retreats (01386 701177; www.ruralretreats.co.uk).

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