Best waterside breaks
Gentle lapping by the riverside brings a special kind of peace. Skip the beach for a slice of fresh water...
1 UNDER CASTLE, FORDINGBRIDGE, HANTS Seven nights from €1,306
Is it a cottage, or is it an oil painting? In truth, you couldn’t get a more idyllic location than this thatched property on the river Avon in the heart of the New Forest. Its film-star looks plus excellent private fishing are what attracted BBC Two’s Gone Fishing with Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse, so you need to book it quickly before it becomes famous. The cottage is timber-framed with climbing roses and carefully furnished with antiques. French windows open out on to a terrace overlooking the water and an expansive garden, with a rowboat bob-bobbing at the end of the lawn. The small town of Fordingbridge, four miles away, has good shops and pubs, and Beaulieu with its Palace House and abbey ruins lies beyond. Sleeps eight in four bedrooms. hideaways.co.uk
2 HORTON LODGE BOATHOUSE, RUDYARD LAKE, STAFFORDSHIRE Seven nights from €1,451
This beautiful converted Victorian boathouse on Rudyard Lake is in the Staffordshire Moorlands, close to the town of Leek, within leaping distance of the Peak District National Park. It ranges over three floors, with glimmering lake views from all rooms, and includes a balcony that overhangs the water, from where you can raise a glass and toast the sipping trout with your evening G&T. The terraced garden has a lakeside patio, a wooded area and a small beach for the start of Swallows and Amazons adventures – and two kayaks are available. Elsewhere on the lake there’s sailing, fishing, a café and a hotel with restaurant, and if that’s not enough activity then the Peaks await. Sleeps eight in four bedrooms. sykescottages.co.uk
3 DITCHLING CABIN, HASSOCKS, WEST SUSSEX
From €357 a night This cabin has a whole lake to itself, so there’s nothing to stop you slipping off the deck every morning, starkers, for your daily dip. In fact, if the weather is that good, then you should be spending your whole day out there, especially as there’s an outside barbecue (you might want to wear clothes for that though). The kitchen and the lounge have lake views through the folding glass frontage, there’s a wood-burning stove, and the bath upstairs overlooks the water too. There’s a rowing boat, canoe and paddleboard, and fish to catch – the property’s owner is a keen flyfisherman. Beyond are the vineyards of Ditchling and the
South Downs National Park. Brighton is 20 minutes away. Sleeps four in two bedrooms. canopyandstars.co.uk
4
BUCK’S COPPICE, BEAMINSTER, DORSET
From €162 a
night This On Golden Pond experience centres on a lake hidden in the depths of Dorset woodland, where your visitors may be deer, wild boar and, if you’re lucky, otters. Because it’s in a Site of Scientific Interest, Buck’s Coppice is an off-grid property, drawing its water from the lake and its lighting, cooking and water heating from solar power and gas. The interiors combine simplicity and refinement and were hand-crafted by the carpenter, Sid Allen, whose inspiration this property is. Slide into the lake from the deck when you get too hot. Outside the borders of this secluded world are the market towns and the cliffs and coves of Dorset’s Jurassic coast. Sleeps a family of four. canopyandstars.co.uk
5 THE GRANARY, SIBTON GREEN, SUFFOLK Seven nights from €858
If you’d prefer a freshwater location but still want to take your bucket and spade, then this conversion of a 19th century barn is ideal. The Granary sits in its own grounds alongside a small lake, eight miles inland from the coast, with the disappearing village of Dunwich, the charming Georgian resort of Southwold, and cultural Aldeburgh all reachable. The property itself has a fantastic open-plan living area with vaulted ceilings, as well as a balcony for sundowners and listening to the birds sing. The patio and lawned garden lead down to the water’s edge. The neighbouring village of Sibton has the award-winning White Horse Inn, and Peasenhall, two miles away, has a brilliant delicatessen. Sleeps four in two rooms.
ruralretreats.co.uk
6 BEETLE AND WEDGE, MOULSFORD, OXON Doubles from €100 a night
This is Three Men in a Boat country, on the banks of the River Thames. The Beetle and Wedge is basically a riverside restaurant with rooms, and the strange name refers to the hammer and peg used to moor boats to the bank. The restaurant is a converted boathouse and the little pier still remains from the ferry that used it. It is a bucolic setting, secluded, with the well-equipped rooms in a separate building, so there’s minimal noise. H G Wells stayed here while writing Mr Polly, so maybe you should bring your own notebook and sit beside this unhurried highway for ripples, coots and swans, waiting for inspiration. beetleandwedge.co.uk
7 THE FERRY HOUSE, WALLINGFORD, OXON
Seven nights from €975
If you like the idea of the banks of the Thames but would prefer a complete property, then the Ferry House is just upriver, in the small picturesque town of Wallingford, which doubles as Causton in Midsomer Murders. It’s hard to imagine anything
brutal going on in sleepy Wallingford, with its 17th century arcaded town hall, unless it involves ducks. The cottage sits on Edwardian brick arches overlooking a private riverside garden and pontoon. Interiors are simple, and there’s a great breakfast veranda. Sleeps four in two bedrooms. ruralretreats.co.uk
8 LOCHSIDE COTTAGE, KENMORE, PERTHSHIRE
Seven nights from
€1,278 Misty mornings and dramatic evening skies are de rigueur on the banks of Loch Tay, where the wilderness is so close that you can almost hear it banging on the door. Lochside Cottage sits directly on the shore, and you can look out across the water from the quirky open-plan area. There’s a hot tub and, on clear nights, the chance of seeing the Northern Lights. If you want to go out on the water, adjacent Taymouth Marina has sailing, canoeing, water-skiing and jet-skiing, and just beyond are the Birks of Aberfeldy, waterfalls immortalised by Rabbie Burns. Sleeps six in three rooms. ruralretreats.co.uk
9 VATERSAY COTTAGE, FORT AUGUSTUS, INVERNESSHIRE
From €139 a night The Great Glen is a massive geological fault which runs diagonally across the Highlands of Scotland, from Fort William to Inverness. Loch Ness fills part of this fault, and the loch is linked to the sea from either end by the Caledonian Canal. The canal’s various cottages, originally built for lock-keepers and bargemen, are now all rentable, and Vatersay cottage is typical: sturdy, traditional and luxurious, with a garden overlooking the canal. Do some monster-spotting as you walk along the towpath. Sleeps five. canalsidecottages.co.uk