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The best UK self-catering holiday options left to book this summer

landmark property
landmark property

Self-catering breaks within your household are (all being well) back on from April 12. Then come June 21 all restrictions are due to lift under the Government's roadmap out of lockdown.

Foreign trips could also be a possibility from May 17. However, UK travellers appear to be backing domestic breaks as the safest option this summer. The key school summer holiday weeks in July and August and booking up fast, with self-catered cottages, country houses and cabins all in high demand.

We've tracked down the remaining the last of the summer breaks among some of the best operators. Here are the options you can still book (at the time of writing) for July or August.

The Landmark Trust has 198 historic properties on its books. An August 2 arrival date, however, returns just seven results, or 3.5 per per cent of its portfolio – and only three of them are in the UK (the other four are in Italy).

Lynch Lodge, near Peterborough

This two-storey Jacobean porch is salvaged from a great house once beloved by the poet and playwright John Dryden but long-lost. Lynch Lodge was re-erected around 1807, serving as a grand entrance to the three-mile long drive to Milton Park. It sits on the edge of Awalton village, with plenty of countryside walks and pubs nearby.
Sleeps two; four nights for £700 (landmarktrust.org.uk).

Lynch Lodge
Lynch Lodge

The Warren House, Cambridgeshire

How about this 17th-century former home to the warrener – the man tasked with managing the rabbits – of the Kimbolton Castle estate. On the ground floor you’ll find a cosy bedroom and upstairs views of the castle in the valley below.
Sleeps two; four nights for £763 (landmarktrust.org.uk).

Collegehill House, Midlothian, Scotland

This is a stone’s throw from Rosslyn Chapel, of Da Vinci Code fame. The house originally served as an inn. Robert Burns once enjoyed breakfast here, after a walk from Edinburgh. He wrote two verses of off-the-cuff poetry about his visit, which he presented to the landlady. Overnight guests included William Wordsworth in 1803 and King Edward VII in 1859.
Sleeps six; four nights for £1,008 (rosslynchapel.com).

Unique Homestays, which offers some of the most stylish self-catering holidays in the country, has 192 properties on its books, but for a one-week stay in August only five options remain – that’s just 2.6 per cent of its portfolio. They include:

Inkwell Cottage, Oxfordshire

Inkwell Cottage
Inkwell Cottage

Enjoy a couple’s retreat in the town of Burford. The cottage is built in the Cotswolds’ trademark honeyed stone, with climbing roses around the front door. By night you can enjoy its charms; collectables covering the walls, a wonky staircase and an outdoor artists studio. By day, explore the surrounding area of natural beauty, with stops at tearooms, gastro pubs and antique shops.
Sleeps two; from £1,350 per week (uniquehomestays.com).

Little Bear, West Sussex

Get away from the world during a stay in this cabin hidden within the wildflower-covered West Sussex Weald Downlands. It comes without Wi-Fi (perfect for a post-lockdown digital detox), but with a wood-fired hot tub. Enjoy wandering through the surrounding wood and make a daytrip to the nearby coast.
Sleeps two; from £1,495 per week uniquehomestays.com).

Oliver’s Travels, which offers villas, castles, stately homes and more from Mallorca to the Maldives, has 346 UK properties on its books. In the peak school summer holiday weeks, just 8 per cent of available dates remain in the 331 UK properties it lists. Among them are:

linton lodge
linton lodge

Linton Lodge, Scotland

Set in over an acre of wooded garden, the lodge is a mere twenty-minute drive from Edinburgh. It has a games room, a cinema-style room and gym, plus a luxury spa attached. Breakfast and a welcome hamper are thrown in for good measure.
Sleeps 16; £14,560 for July 17-24 (oliverstravels.com).

Northborough Manor Gatehouse, Cambridgeshire

This Grade-I listed building was once used by Oliver Cromwell. Relics of its history remain including 700-year-old beams and cannon holes. Antiques-lovers will enjoy the mix of artwork and furniture from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

Northborough Gatehouse
Northborough Gatehouse

Sleeps eight; £2,262 for July 23-30 (oliverstravels.com)