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
24
Bedrooms
12

Isobel’s Expeditions is an opulent fairy tale castle near Edinburgh in Scotland. The magnificent grand cottage offers groups gorgeous, expansive grounds, a banquet room, a bar, incredible artwork, luxurious detailing, a private tennis court, many entertaining spaces & photogenic scenes

  • Accessible By Train
  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Cycling Holidays
  • Large Holiday Cottages
  • Luxury Holiday Cottages
  • Quirky Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Walking Holidays
Exterior of a 3-storey, farmhouse in Derbyshire.
Sleeps
2
Bedrooms
1

Built in 1560, Scargill Castle epitomises country charm. The pet-friendly romantic cottage in Scargill, Yorkshire, emerges from the ruins of an old castle and features exposed beams, oak floors, a wood-burning stove, period furnishings and modern comforts, and seclusion and countryside views.

  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Cycling Holidays
  • Dog-Friendly Holiday Cottages
  • Farm Cottages
  • Luxury Holiday Cottages
  • Quirky Cottages
  • Romantic Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Small Cottages
  • Walking Holidays
Exterior view of St Anne's Lighthouse complex on the Isle of Wight.
Sleeps
5
Bedrooms
3

Fancy a lighthouse holiday? Book Gunard, a Ventnor holiday cottage, part of St Catherine's Lighthouse on the Isle of Wight. With superb sea views, this pet-friendly waterside cottage sleeps 5 in a secluded rural location right above the waves.

  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Coastal Cottages
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Cycling Holidays
  • Dog-Friendly Holiday Cottages
  • Fishing Holidays
  • Quirky Cottages
  • Remote Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Walking Holidays
  • Waterside Cottages
Sleeps
6
Bedrooms
3

Beautiful and quirky, this detached cottage on the edge of the Waveney Valley has nature reserves, country walks and quaint village pubs on the doorstep. Luxury accommodation for grown-ups and their dogs... the ultimate differentiator is a relaxing Hound and Human Holiday! 3/4/7 night stays.

  • Active Holidays
  • Cottages with Car Chargers
  • Cottages With Games Rooms
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Cycling Holidays
  • Dog-Friendly Holiday Cottages
  • Eco Cottages
  • Quirky Cottages
  • Romantic Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Smoking Cottages
  • Walking Holidays
Pendeen lighthouse holiday cottages in a clifftop location
Sleeps
3
Bedrooms
2

Argus Cottage is a unique coastal cottage set inside Pendeen Lighthouse atop the cliffs of Pendeen. The pet-friendly cottage boasts stunning ocean views and an abundance of wildlife, as well as a generously sized, furnished garden, contemporary design features, a sea breeze and access to the Cornwall coast and South West Coast Path.

  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Coastal Cottages
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Dog-Friendly Holiday Cottages
  • Quirky Cottages
  • Romantic Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Small Cottages
  • Walking Holidays
  • Waterside Cottages
A lighthouse holiday cottage complex on a rugged North Devon clifftop.
Sleeps
5
Bedrooms
3

Enjoy unique self-catering holidays in North Devon with a stay at Siren, one of four refurbished former lighthouse keepers’ cottages overlooking Bull Point near the village of Mortehoe, Devon, a child-friendly cottage that sleeps up to five, featuring three bedrooms, a fully fitted kitchen, and absolutely gorgeous sea views.

  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Coastal Cottages
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Quirky Cottages
  • Remote Cottages
  • Romantic Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Walking Holidays
  • Waterside Cottages
Aerial view of a Lighthouse and crew buildings atop cliffs overlooking the sea at Lizard Point in Cornwall.
Sleeps
4
Bedrooms
2

Longships boasts spectacular views over the ocean from its position within Lizard Lighthouse near Lizard Village in Cornwall. The two-bedroom seaside cottage offers modern comforts, subtle decorations and ample grounds for children and pets to explore on a truly unique coastal holiday.

  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Coastal Cottages
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Dog-Friendly Holiday Cottages
  • Quirky Cottages
  • Remote Cottages
  • Romantic Cottages
  • Small Cottages
  • Walking Holidays
  • Waterside Cottages
A Lighthouse complex on a clifftop with panoramic ocean views.
Sleeps
4
Bedrooms
2

Panoramic ocean views stretch before Verity Cottage, a sophisticated coastal cottage within Trevose Head Lighthouse. The coast of Cornwall lies on either side of the cottage, which boasts outdoor entertaining spaces, contemporary comfort, light and airy design, the chance to get away from it all with more clean, fresh, revitalising air than you could shake a windsock at.

  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Coastal Cottages
  • Quirky Cottages
  • Remote Cottages
  • Romantic Cottages
  • Small Cottages
  • Walking Holidays
  • Waterside Cottages
A n ewly thatched Devon cottage overlooking a spacious lawn.
Sleeps
5
Bedrooms
3

The Manger is an authentic rural cottage holiday cottage near Axminster, nestled among woodland and fields in East Devon. The lovely pet-friendly cottage of stone and thatch possesses a generous garden with a pond and orchard, a table tennis table, an interior with lime-washed walls, exposed beams, and gentle rustic charm.

  • Active Holidays
  • Agency Cottages
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Cottages With Games Rooms
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Dog-Friendly Holiday Cottages
  • Farm Cottages
  • Quirky Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Walking Holidays