An octagonal, stone-built toll house shaded by trees.

Book Self-Catering Holidays in Quirky Holiday Cottages

Fancy a self-catering holiday in a quirky and unusual holiday property? Who wouldn’t say no to a holiday with friends in a luxury lighthouse or a beautifully restored Napoleonic Fort?

Search here to find an architecturally unique holiday cottage for a more than usually memorable holiday with family or friends. The UK has a splendid choice of distinctive and unusual character cottages appealing to those looking for something slightly different from a traditional house. 

While quirky cottages are not the ‘everyday’ holiday property, they still offer the same standards, facilities, and amenities you would expect to find in any decent holiday property worth its salt. Types of out-of-the-ordinary holiday lets include (but are not limited to):

  • Lighthouses
  • Windmills
  • Restored railway stations and carriages
  • Castles and Forts.
  • Shepherds Huts
  • Narrow Boats
  • Tree-houses
  • Signal boxes
  •  Follies 

View this collection of distinctive holiday properties to find one with that ‘must-stay’ funky factor for a long holiday or just a weekend break.

Sleeps
10
Bedrooms
5

Hammerhole is a unique rural cottage on Lake Windemere's shores on the Graythwaite Estate near Hawkshead. The large, pet-friendly cottage features enviable views, extensive grounds, a private jetty, access to a swimming pool and sauna, and the beautiful region of Cumbria.

  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Cycling Holidays
  • Dog-Friendly Holiday Cottages
  • Fishing Holidays
  • Large Holiday Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Walking Holidays
A water tower converted to a holiday home overlooks woods and fields.
Sleeps
6
Bedrooms
3

The Tower is a rural cottage that has won several awards for its unique construction and sweeping countryside views. Located near Latchingdon in Essex, this circular building has beautifully combined its original utilitarian architecture from the 1930s with modern sophistication, including a large balcony and spacious open areas.

  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Coastal Cottages
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Cycling Holidays
  • Luxury Holiday Cottages
  • Quirky Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Walking Holidays
Sleeps
4
Bedrooms
2

Bakers Farm Oast is a stunningly authentic detached rural cottage in the High Weald AONB in Ticehurst. Set on the Sussex/Kent border, the rural cottage sleeps four and offers contemporary chic and country charm, a delightful private garden, local wildlife, lovely views, and a wood-burning stove.

 

  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Cycling Holidays
  • Farm Cottages
  • Remote Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Small Cottages
  • Walking Holidays
A 2-storey Cotswold honeystone cottage overlooking a spacious lawn.
Sleeps
4
Bedrooms
2

Kitchen Garden Cottage is a gorgeous yellow stone holiday cottage in Barton-on-Heath, set within the grounds of the old rectory. This quiet rural retreat sits within the Cotswold National Park and enjoys beautiful views, lovely grounds, beams, sophistication, and a log fire.

  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Cycling Holidays
  • Luxury Holiday Cottages
  • Romantic Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Small Cottages
  • Walking Holidays
Sleeps
2
Bedrooms
1

High Bridge Haven boasts beautiful ocean views from its gardens and offers couples a romantic getaway in Kirkby-in-Furness. The newly-built cedar cottage rests on spacious grounds in Cumbria and offers true sophistication, a gazebo with a hot tub, a light-filled interior and a wood-burning stove.

  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Coastal Cottages
  • Cottages with Hot Tubs
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Cycling Holidays
  • Remote Cottages
  • Romantic Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Small Cottages
  • Walking Holidays
End of terrace exterior with off-road parking of a seaside holiday home in Hunstanton.
Sleeps
6
Bedrooms
3

The Northgate Loft is a thoroughly modern and spacious seaside holiday let in Hunstanton with easy access to the sandy beaches of Hunstanton and the Norfolk coast. The coastal cottage boasts ample windows with ocean views and is situated within the heart of the coastal town. Escape to the seaside and relax.

  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Coastal Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Walking Holidays
Ground-floor frontage of a stone-built holiday cottage in Mousehole.
Sleeps
2
Bedrooms
1

Romance is assured at The Langley Tarne, a pet-friendly, one-bedroom holiday cottage Mousehole that boasts many traditional features as well as an open fire, modern comforts, and contemporary style a 2-minute stroll from the gorgeous harbour and the beautiful coastline of Cornwall.

  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Coastal Cottages
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Dog-Friendly Holiday Cottages
  • Luxury Holiday Cottages
  • Romantic Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Small Cottages
  • Walking Holidays
A white-washed stone cottage overlooks a country lane in North Wales
Sleeps
6
Bedrooms
3

Hen Argoed Cottage is a carefully renovated 15th-century holiday cottage on a working farm just outside the small Gwynedd village of Llanfair close to Harlech. This Grade II listed 15th Century cottage has been lovingly refurbished and sleeps six people in its three bedrooms.

  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Coastal Cottages
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Dog-Friendly Holiday Cottages
  • Farm Cottages
  • Fishing Holidays
  • Short Breaks
  • Walking Holidays
The exterior of a stone-built Exmoor farmhouse standing in a remote moorland location near Simonsbath.
Sleeps
10
Bedrooms
5

This large Exmoor holiday home is in a beautiful secluded position surrounded by moorland near Simonsbath and can sleep ten people in five bedrooms. Limecombe is ideally located for walking and cycling holidays on Exmoor.

  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Cycling Holidays
  • Dog-Friendly Holiday Cottages
  • Farm Cottages
  • Large Holiday Cottages
  • Remote Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Walking Holidays