10 of the most romantic hotels, pubs, cabins and cottages for a cosy UK getaway | United Kingdom holidays
Stylish lakeside huts in Somerset
Six vintage-style “luxury huts” spaced out around a lake make up The Shepherds Hut Retreat in south Somerset. They have modern kitchens and bathrooms, private areas with hot tubs, and fancy features such as telescopes, gin bars, pizza ovens, fire pits and hammocks. There is also a woodland sauna on site. The newest hut, 1898, is the grandest, and is inspired by the Pig hotels. It is a mile’s walk to the Lord Poulett Arms, a thatched 17th-century pub in the village of Hinton St George, and half an hour’s drive to the beaches of the Jurassic Coast in east Devon and Dorset.
From £169, coolstays.com
A Jacobean manor in Kent
Boys Hall, a gorgeous Jacobean manor house near Ashford, is now a restaurant with rooms. The pub area has comfy chairs and a wood burner; lounges with inglenook fireplaces, sofas and books; there’s more than a hectare (2½ acres) of grounds, including a rose garden. The restaurant is a light, oak-framed space serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, including a weekly changing set menu of Kentish produce (three courses for £30; perhaps venison terrine, braised beef cheek stew and winter berry trifle). The nine rooms feature original stone mullion windows, oak panels and beams, plus rolltop baths and four-poster beds.
From £220 B&B, boys-hall.com
A fairytale farm cottage in the Malvern Hills
Wishbone is a 16th-century, fairytale cottage hidden away on an ancient fruit farm. The stone and timber barn is half-covered by foliage on the outside, but the inside has been beautifully restored and converted. There is a vaulted ceiling above the open-plan kitchen, dining and living areas, a bedroom with a king-size bed and an en suite shower room. Original wattle and daub panels, brick floors and beams add to the charm, and barn doors open on to the patio. Beyond the orchard in front of the cottage are fields with oak trees and a lake.
From £850 for two nights, uniquehomestays.com
A thatched pub in Bedfordshire
The Sun Inn is a 17th-century, recently refurbished thatched pub in the riverside village of Felmersham. It has open fires, guest ales and food sourced from its own farm. Its curried kid goat offal with fermented chilli might not be everyone’s idea of a date-night dinner, but there are steaks, pork chops and veggie options too. Upstairs are two rooms: a deluxe, dual-aspect double, or, for those really pushing the boat out, a two-storey suite. The latter has exposed stone walls, wooden beams and a freestanding copper bath. Couples can visit Felmersham’s 13th-century church, St Mary’s, and take strolls along the River Great Ouse.
From £135 room-only, thesunfelmersham.com
An arty cottage in the Scottish Borders
A single-storey stone lodge on a private track between parkland and a wood, Lilylaw was once home to the gamekeeper of the Minto Estate. It is not for shy couples, being largely open-plan, with a low wall separating the bedroom from the living area, and a clawfoot bath in the bedroom (there is a separate bathroom too). The decor is inspired by English country house hotels; there is a wood burner, large windows and lots of contemporary artworks; and a garden with a partially walled terrace. Perhaps best of all, guests can request a key to explore Fatlips Castle, a 16th-century reiver’s tower on top of Minto Crags.
From £559 for two nights, crabtreeandcrabtree.com
Off-grid cabins in West Yorkshire
Three off-grid cabins have just opened at Denton Reserve, a 1,000-hectare rewilding estate near Ilkley in West Yorkshire. The decor is pared-back and calm, and cabins have floor-to-ceiling windows, large skylights, king-sized beds and rain showers. Couples can stargaze from their cabin or around the fire pit (blankets and astronomy books are provided), and look out for the resident tawny, little and barn owls. The cabins are powered by solar batteries and named after plants now sown on the estate: Cotton Grass, Peat Moss and Cross Leaved Heath. It is a 10-minute walk to the Penny Bun gastropub, which serves Denton produce.
From £220, dentonreserve.co.uk
A Welsh Chateau
Lovers don’t need to cross the Channel to stay in a chateau – there is one on the south coast of Ynys Môn (Anglesey). Chateau Rhianfa was built by John Hay-Williams in the mid-19th century as a gift to his wife Sarah, inspired by her sketches of chateaux in the Loire Valley. The fairytale Grade II-listed property has a restaurant, wine cave, banqueting hall, drawing room and music room, and gardens with views over the Menai Strait to Eryri (Snowdonia). The 27 bedrooms are in the main chateau, lodge and cottages, and include a suite with a four-poster bed.
From £145 B&B, chateaurhianfa.co.uk
A treehouse in Powys
What could be more romantic than staying in a treehouse? Ty Coedwig (Forest House) is in a patch of ancient oaks, surrounded by farmland and four miles from Newtown in Powys. A wooden walkway leads to the open-plan kitchen and living room, which has a chesterfield sofa and French doors on to the decking. The bedroom has a vaulted ceiling and a kingsize bed, and the bathroom has a two-person shower and double sinks; both have huge windows. There is an outdoor bath and a slide down to the forest floor, where there is a fire pit and a swing. The nearest pub, the Dolau Inn, is 1½ miles away.
From £346 for two nights, uniquehideaways.com
A Gloucestershire barn
The Lavendrye Barn is at the end of a tree-lined lane in the grounds of a Tudor manor house in Lydney, near the Severn estuary. The ivy-clad stone barn has a snug with a log fire, a vaulted kitchen, a mezzanine bedroom and a modern shower room. It has been recently renovated but is still full of original features, including exposed stone walls and oak beams. French doors lead out on to the walled garden, where there is a wood-fired hot tub with views over the Severn. The wildflower meadow beyond has recliners, hammocks, a fire pit, barbecue and pizza oven. Walking trails lead from the door through the surrounding ancient woodland.
From £180, hostunusual.com
A country house hotel in Wiltshire
The former rectory of All Saints’ church in the village of Crudwell, north Wiltshire, is now the Rectory hotel. The early 18th-century, Grade II-listed building is made from pale Cotswold stone, and has a simple, relaxed country house vibe. There are 15 bedrooms in the main house, all with rolltop baths, and a three-bedroom cottage in the grounds. Couples can sip cocktails at the bar and dine at the restaurant where the new head chef, Damian Clisby, serves set lunches (£25 for three courses) and candlelit dinners (mains include roast partridge with cauliflower, chanterelles and madeira sauce, and Cornish sea bass with shellfish sauce). The hotel has a sister pub just over the road, with log fires and local ales.
From £160 B&B, therectoryhotel.com