The new holiday booking season is nearly upon us, every year it goes quiet and then, on the 27th of December, the booking season takes off with a bang. The first big event on the calendar for next year is Valentines' Day which, in 2020, falls on a Friday. It may be a few weeks away, but we can already see a significant level of interest in Valentines' breaks for couples. Let’s face it; all we need is a break in the middle of winter, and tourism has changed significantly so that many properties are now open all year round.

Enjoy Snowy Valentine Retreats at Dark Ark Cottage, Cheshire. View More Information...

Finding the perfect holiday cottage for a couple is always a daunting task, here at My Favourite Holiday Cottages, we have a collection designed just for you with over 450 cottages across the UK that are ideal for couples. Properties range from small, cosy and quaint rural retreats, perfect for a romantic escape in the countryside, to modern

Guests at Eco-Chis cottages know they can reduce their environmental footprints while luxuriating in one of two beautiful Eco-Chic Cottages in Oxfordshire. And now it’s official. ‘The Chestnuts’, a 5-star-gold award Cotswold holiday cottage, has just been awarded the prestigious ‘Rose Award’ by Visit Britain,

Hosted at Luton Hoo Hotel, the annual Visit England Rose Award provided The Chestnuts with its newest accolade: a Visit England Rose. Awarded to only 100 properties each year, this recognition from Visit England is the culmination of twelve years of work by owner Christine Burton and her team.

View The Chestnuts in the Oxfordshire Cotswold village of Burford.

Visit England’s team of inspectors nominates winners of this prestigious award. The Chestnuts, a four-bedroom, Five Star, Gold-rated holiday cottage in The Cotswolds, won the award for consistently over-delivering for customers: going above and beyond, and in the words of Visit

Many places are described as ‘unspoilt’ but rarely are. Many villages are described as ‘being in a time warp’, but the truth is usually different. BUCKS MILLS in North Devon is unspoilt, completely unspoilt.

Leaving the main road at Bucks Cross, the lane winds down the valley, through the trees and following the path of the stream, falls towards the sea. I often wonder what visitors must think when arriving late at night; no street lights, few houses and a road resembling the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. Eventually, as you round the last corner, the valley opens out, and the village reveals itself. Tiny whitewashed cottages, nestled amongst the trees, the stream still trickling beside the lane until it arrives at the bottom of the village, where it hurls itself over the cliffs and onto the beach.

Bucks Mills - A sleepy, secretive village lining a steep-sided woody valley leading to the sea in North Devon.

 

A Spanish Tale

South West Cornwall remains a relatively unspoilt haven in the West Country, with a variety of beaches and interesting places to visit, a paradise that many tourists have never visited. The commercial centre for the area is Penzance, over 250 miles from London, and it is this geographical scale makes South West Cornwall retain the ability to offer peace and quiet in a stunning location.

Penzance is the end of the line; well, it is for the main rail network with high-speed trains terminating at Penzance. Not quite the end of the road network, the A30 that goes by Penzance and ends at Tradescantia, but this remoteness has allowed the South West of Cornwall to retain its character, traditions and natural beauty, avoiding over-development and congestion.

The beaches in the area are plentiful, clean with crystal clear waters, and generally relatively quiet even in the summer and winter, offering a fantastic spectacle, especially during the storms.

If you have visited North Devon recently, you will not have been able to miss the significant developments taking place, with substantial housing growth and tourism growth in the local area. 

One of the significant locations for the growth in tourism in North Devon has been the traditional seaside village of Westward Ho! The town takes its name from the novel of the same name by Charles Kingsley, unique in that it takes its name from a book, although the village had started to develop ten years before the book was published but was unnamed.

The village is set to the southern end of a long sandy beach, backed by a pebble ridge that protects the unspoilt grasslands of Northam Burrows Country Park. The village developed into a major holiday destination in Victorian times, primarily due to the fantastic location, sandy beach, good transport links and the novel's popularity. The village suffered, as did many Victorian seaside resorts in the 1970s and

Mellow, Gold and Peaceful: The Cotswolds in Autumn

Summer 2019 will be remembered fondly – so many warm and super-hot sunny days: Barbecues, plenty of festival-goers revelling in the warmth, abandoning the usual wellies and raincoats. While we reminisce about summer, we also look forward to those crisp autumn days. We think not of the beach but of our plans to visit inland gems like The Cotswolds.

The Cotswolds is an all-year-round destination, but as autumn rolls in and summer crowds are gone, the honey traps of Bourton-on-the Water, Broadway, Stow on the Wold and the Slaughters come into their oIt’sIt’s not just easier to pait’sit’s easier to get a table at a favoured café too. Step off the beaten track for a weekend break in a local holiday cottage in autumn to experience an authentic slice of Cotswolds living.

The southeastern corner of the Cotswolds is often overlooked but easily has enough to keep you captivated for a week, let alone a

Where Can We Go For an East Devon Weekend Break?

The weekend forecast is good; it’s been a long week for us both– where to find a holiday cottage in East Devon just for the two of us is the dilemma. Looking for somewhere peaceful and beautiful with a choice of country walks or relaxing on a beach, we settled on East Devon for a relaxing holiday. Next question: Where do we go, and what do we want to see and do? There are so many options in this idyllic corner of Devon. It quickly became a matter of deciding what to leave out (or save until the next time).

As for cottages, using My Favourite Holiday Cottages, we chose Apple Cottage in the tranquil hamlet of Moorhayne just outside Yarcombe near Honiton. It proved to be an ‘easy to reach’ rural paradise from the Home counties and allowed us to plan stop-offs on the outward and return legs of our journey at Cheddar Gorge and Stonehenge. Upon arrival, it was quickly apparent why Apple Cottage’s location is

Most of us are turning our thoughts to the summer holidays, but there are those of us already planning short autumn breaks. If you have a large group or family gathering to organise, now is the best time to schedule an autumn staycation.

One of the UK's most popular autumn destinations is the Peak District National Park, which is most beautiful at this time of year. The changing scenery and autumnal colours are stunning.  

Froggat Edge

Some of our favourite spots for autumn splendour and views are:

Mam Tor and the Great Ridge Curbar Edge Froggatt Edge Edale.

All will be clothed in autumn glory and are simply stunning.  

Autumn walks through the changing colours of the trees are also gorgeous in: 

Padley Gorge Manifold Valley Goyt Valley Ladybower Wood.

Another wildlife spectacle of the Peak District starts in October; the starling murmurations. Middleton Moor is the place to view these

During the long gap between the end of summer and the arrival of Christmas, why not plan a get-together with family or friends in a large holiday cottage? They are perfect for celebrations, reunions or gatherings. 

Cazenovia Hall, Rural Holiday Cottage Near Penrith in Cumbria. Sleeps 8

They are also much more affordable than hotels and offer exclusive use of facilities. 

These can include a swimming pool, hot tubs, and games rooms - and there is usually a choice of living areas for people with different TV/NetFlix tastes.

View the collection of Large Holiday Homes available to book on My Favourite Holiday Cottages and find one that is right for you. Do you fancy a restored castle, a grand old country house or a large townhouse in a city? 

Crepe Farmhouse near Bridport in Dorset. Sleeps 17 in 8 bedrooms

Maybe you'd prefer a remote farmhouse in the heart of a National Park surrounded by an autumn gold