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Special Escapes: Self-catering in the UK

cottage with turf roof
Veranda of cabin in woods by mountains and a lake
Living room with log burner looking through a picture window to a lake and mountains
Brightly coloured living room sofas by fireplace

Alastair Sawday's Special Escapes has unearthed quirky, comfortable, independent self-catering places run by people who care. Each has been visited by and written about by us - we like them all and we don't include ones we wouldn't stay in ourselves. Don't spend another moment trawling through the insanely complex and unreliable world of self-catering websites. Special Escapes has what you're looking for...

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More information...

Latest escapes...

The Balcony Gite Suite, Devon

Fingals is a groovy, jumble of an hotel enfolded in a hidden valley in one of the most beautiful...See the full entry »

Old Coombe, Dittisham, Dartmouth, TQ6 0JA

Nantcol, Gwynedd

You'll feel you've arrived at the last dwelling in the world when you reach the 14th-century...See the full entry »

Llanbedr, LL45 2PL

Catacol Farmhouse, Isle of Arran

If Arran is 'Scotland in miniature' then the drive to get here is true to the saying. You arrive...See the full entry »

Catacol, Lochranza, KA27 8HN

Editor's picks...

Quintole, Cornwall

The garden is big enough to romp in, with shrubs, old trees, camellias in spring and hydrangeas...See the full entry »

Penpol, St Veep, Cornwall, PL22 0NG

Laundry Cottage & Stables Cottage, Isle of Skye

At the bottom of the garden, views stretch across Loch Snizort towards the Outer Hebrides, the...See the full entry »

Lyndale House, Edinbane, Isle of Skye, Isle of Skye, IV51 9PX

Hafod Cae Maen, Gwynedd

As you approach from the back – down the ever-narrowing lane, onto the private track, over the...See the full entry »

Minffordd, Portmeirion, Gwynedd, LL48 6EP

A selection...

The Old Chapel, Cornwall

Past the Rising Sun, down a narrow winding street in a Cornish seaside village, to an old chapel....See the full entry »

Market Street, Kingsand, Cornwall, PL10 1NE

Treveddoe & The Barley Crush, Cornwall

Follow the granite-walled Cornish lane, dripping with moss and ferns, and find your secret...See the full entry »

Warleggan, Bodmin, PL30 4HF

Sam, the shepherd's hut, Dorset

It's cosy, it's comfy, it's not just for shepherds. Tim has been at it again. What will he do...See the full entry »

The Old Forge, Fanners Yard, Compton Abbas, Shaftesbury, SP7 0NQ

NEW in Sawday's shop

British Bed & Breakfast - Edition 15

Now available! Get 35% off our latest edition of British B&B guide »

Also just published - our 3 new Slow Guides to regional England »

Also from Sawday's

Sawday's Special Places to Stay Sawday's Special Places to Stay

Happy hotels, blissful B&Bs and perky pubs. Stunning places for all types of get-together.
Visit the Special Places website »

Sawday's Canopy & Stars Sawday's Canopy & Stars

A collection of beautiful and quirky places of a camping kind!
Visit the Canopy & Stars website »