Best unique UK holiday cottages for foodies

Best foodie holiday cottages in the UK

Durslade Farmhouse, Somerset – house for 12 people

Set among 1,000 acres of boundless Somerset countryside, this 18th-century farmhouse is the perfect place to squirrel away for the weekend, with everything you need directly on your doorstep. Located on the grounds of the Hauser & Wirth estate there’s no surprise that the farmhouse is peppered with exclusive artworks. No two rooms are the same – with each of the six bedrooms curated with unique charm and enchanting vintage pieces.

Enjoy a welcome hamper overflowing with Somerset’s bounty –from farm-made jams to chocolate-dipped honeycomb from the beehives and pickles made by in-house forager Kenny Jelfs. Milk-washed margaritas and stiff martinis are within walking distance of the farmhouse with the conveniently placed Roth Bar found only across the courtyard. In the private dining room enjoy an intimate experience from Roth Bar's executive chef James Jesty. Using ingredients hand-picked from the walled garden or meat reared on the farm, James’s cooking boasts big flavours with unique twists on seasonality. If you’re after something more laid-back and alfresco, then you only have to throw open the back doors to the sprawling hills and light up the Big Green Egg on your patio – the on-site farm shop can furnish you with all the trimmings for a perfect BBQ. It has everything you need, from succulent meat cuts from the farm to foraged pickles to pimp your burger. The farmhouse can be your cosy retreat or your bouji party house for the weekend but, whatever the occasion, you needn’t walk further than 100 metres to satisfy your appetite.

Sleeps 12, from £850 a night to hire the entire farmhouse. dursladefarmhouse.co.uk/the-farmhouse/

The Artisan Bakehouse, Ashurst, West Sussex – woodland cottages for two to four people

This rural retreat in the Sussex countryside has revamped its two cottages – The Brewhouse and The Milkhouse – which form part of the rustic 16th-century farmhouse. Complete with outdoor swimming pool, the cottages are enveloped in five acres of woodland and gardens, home to all kinds of wildlife from woodpeckers to rabbits and wild deer, making them ideal for peaceful, relaxing escapes.

When it comes to mealtimes, guests can make use of the bounties from the herb and vegetable patch and fruit trees, and are welcome to collect eggs from the chickens. If you fancy cooking alfresco, there is a barbecue in each of the cottages’ gardens, too.
All sorts of lovely homemade bakes will be waiting for you here in a generous welcome hamper, and there are discounts for guests on the baking courses that are held on-site. Learn how to bake bread, make pastries and master sourdough or, if you have a sweeter tooth, check out the chocolate workshops.

If your idea of a holiday is more about kicking back while someone else rustles up your meal, head to the fully licensed Bakehouse (open seasonally) and tuck into homemade lunches and afternoon teas featuring locally grown ingredients

Each cottage sleeps up to four, circa £325 for two nights, £875 for a week; theartisanbakehouse.com

The Fish Store, Mousehole, Cornwall – coastal cottage for ten people

The Fish Store, by the harbour at the tiny Cornish fishing village of Mousehole, was once a pilchard-packing factory. These days – in fact for the last century – it has been the characterful holiday home of the same family – one of whom is food writer Lindsey Bareham.

For the ultimate holiday cottage cookbook, turn to Bareham’s book, also called The Fish Store, which features recipes relating to the house and harbour. Unsurprisingly, this coastal retreat, with its seaside-chic vibe, has shelves crammed with cookery books, a sprawling open-plan kitchen and a barbecue outside perfect for a seafood grill.

The house is a short stroll down to the harbour where you can pick up crab fresh off the boats. Guests also receive a gourmet welcome hamper on arrival and there’s no shortage of places to eat out in this foodie corner of west Cornwall. One of the owners' tips in the village is The Ship Inn – which has a simplified menu at the moment but you can still tuck into Tribute Ale battered cod and chunky chips. In Mousehole there’s also The Old Coastguard Hotel, while in Newlyn, just round the coast, you’ve got Ben Tunnicliffe’s gastropub, the Tolcarne Inn.

Sleeps 10, from £1,995 for a three-night short break or from £2,595 per week; thefishstore.uniquehomestays.com

Pineapple Spa, Stow-on-the-Wold, Cotswolds – holiday cottage for four people

Pineapple Spa in Lower Swell just outside Stow-on-the-Wold is a Grade II-listed, 200-year-old Cotswolds spa. Indian carvings mark its buttery stone exterior, and a pineapple motif sits above its arched doorway; there’s also a golden fir-cone on top of each upstairs window. Inside the interiors are just as quirky. There's a trap door in the living room (covered by a glass partition) which leads to a stone cellar and the spring that makes this the smallest spa in England. There’s also a pineapple-shaped stone font by the stairs (to which the water is pumped) and, continuing the fruity theme, pineapple tea cups, candle holders, key rings and cushions throughout.

The kitchen is hand-crafted and sleek and owner, Rachel, leaves a pampering array of treats (croissants, cookies, coffee and red wine among them) to tempt you. If you don't want to venture out Daylesford Farm Shop is close by and offers free delivery within a 10-mile radius of their Kingham location, so you can stock up on organic cheeses, fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, artisan breads and pastries along with their award-winning 'real meals', freshly made soups and hearty stews.

If you do want to explore, there are plenty of local food highlights nearby. In Bourton-on-the-Water don't miss the syrupy ‘petal’ cake from the Bakery on the Water (open for takeaways) while in Stow-on-the-Wold you can try 10 different flavours of still-warm fudge from Roly’s Fudge Pantry. Pubs serving good food include The Porch House (read our review of it here and visit their website for updates on reopening) Another little gem is Locojo’s pizzeria in Moreton, which offers takeaway and delivery and a veggie feast pizza topped with fresh figs and goats cheese.

Sleeps four, from £284 per night, booking.com

West Cawthorne, Yorkshire – barns and cabins from four people

West Cawthorne is a lush 26-acre private estate that has two stylishly converted barns and chic A-frame cabins overlooking the rolling hills of the Vale of Pickering. It’s also conveniently situated right in the middle of Yorkshire’s food scene.

As you drive into the farm to be greeted personally by owners Rich and Sophie, the place has a French feel, with its bleached stone buildings and shaded pétanque area. The barns, which sleep four or six, are interior magazine worthy, decorated in neutral colours with exposed beams, poured concrete details and photogenic décor, while still feeling warm and cosy. We headed straight into the wood-fired hot tub.

Accomodation is self-catered and the kitchen in our barn was stocked to a fine detail. Guests get a welcome pack, including macarons from Florian Poirot and Bluebird Bakery sourdough – both at Talbot Yard in nearby foodie Malton – plus Yorkshire crisps, apple juice, butter and eggs. Guests can order a Made in Oldstead recipe box by local food hero Tommy Banks. Our kit was simply named ‘duck, lamb, raspberry’ and was three vibrant, elegant courses that were deceptively intuitive to cook.

Whether you want to lounge at your cabin or barn, taking in deep lungfuls of crisp Yorkshire air from your deck, or use it as a base to explore places like Malton, Pickering, Helmsley, York and Sandsend, this tranquil haven is a perfect spot to go off grid (while also enjoying excellent wifi coverage).

Barns start at £800 for a 4-night stay and cabins at £360 for a 2-night stay. northyorkshirehideaways.com

Brownber Hall, Yorkshire Dales – guesthouses for eight or fifteen people

The sourdough pizza nights had quite a following at award-winning, eclectic-chic Grade II-listed guesthouse Brownber Hall in the Yorkshire Dales. Following the pandemic, the Hall was relaunched as a self-catering let. A second property on the estate, Brownber House, a four-bedroom Victorian farmhouse, is also available to rent. Amanda's sister, Georgina Rose, (the designer for Soho House), has curated the interiors. Think Vanessa Arbuthnot fabrics, vintage furniture finds, a reconstituted stone bath in the master bedroom and sweeping views over the Howgill fells.

Enjoy a virtual concierge service and welcome hampers packed with homemade treats such as freshly baked sourdough bread, marmalade, cakes and cookies. They can also arrange for the fridge to be stocked with local supplies from companies such as the Appleby Creamery and Eden River Brew Co and they'll prepare a picnic for you for a hike up onto the fells. What's more, if you don't feel like cooking you can still tuck into their sourdough pizzas – delivered to the door or left chilled to be cooked later along with home-cooked meals such as local longhorn beef bourguignon with dauphinoise potatoes, seasonal greens and a bottle of burgundy.

Brownber Hall sleeps 15, from £1,600 for a three-night short break and from £2,800 per week. Brownber House sleeps eight, from £,1000 for a three-night short break and from £1,800 per week; brownberhall.co.uk, mrandmrssmith.com

Yew Tree Farm, Coniston, Cumbria – farmhouse for six people

In the craggy Lakeland fells above Coniston you can bed down in Beatrix Potter’s old home, Yew Tree Farm, and eat at her original dining table. The cosy 17th-century, Grade II listed farmhouse has bags of character and is still decked out with some of her furniture – think dark oak panelling, roaring fires and a traditional kitchen – as well as more contemporary additions, including a barbecue and hot tub.

You might recognise the farmhouse from Miss Potter, the 2006 film adaptation of the author’s life, starring Rene Zellweger and Ewan McGregor (Yew Tree Farm was used as one of the set locations). Today it is still a working farm and Herdwick sheep and Belted Galloway cattle graze the meadows and fells outside its door.

Stay over and you can collect eggs for breakfast from the farm’s hens – and put in your order for dinner from Heritage Meats, which is based on the farm and specialises in Herdwick hogget and mutton and Belted Galloway beef. Or head into Coniston to the family's café Herdwicks where you can sample dishes created from the farm's beef and Herdwick lamb – now open again with social distancing measures in place.

Sleeps six, from £683 per week, booking.com

The Piggery, Monmouthshire, Wales – farmyard cottage for four people

A cosy, two-bedroom traditional farmyard cottage with its own hens (that’s breakfast sorted), welcome hamper (with local cider), a wood-burning stove, barbecue and an orchard outside the door, The Piggery is one of three self-catering options on TV presenter Kate Humble’s farm in rural Monmouthshire – other choices are the converted Hayloft and the Humble Hideaway, an off-grid shepherd’s hut; both sleep two.

Sleeps four, from £393 for a three-night short break or from £558 per week; humblebynature.com

Garden Cottage, Peak District, Derbyshire – cottage for six people

There are roses around the doorway of this bucolic, three-bedroom stone cottage in the grounds of the Wootton Hall Estate on the edge of the Peak District National Park. Garden Cottage was originally the estate's old pump house but now boasts contemporary country chic interiors with a large farmhouse kitchen, roaring log fire and board games in the sitting room, a barbecue in the garden and far-reaching views of the rolling countryside. It also has stellar food credentials: it's the sister property of the nearby Duncombe Arms, a stylishly rustic 19th-century inn which was awarded a Bib Gourmand at the end of 2019.

Sleeps six, from £525 for a three-night short break and from £1,000 per week, duncombearms.co.uk/garden-cottage

Loch an Eilein Cottage, The Cairngorms, Scotland – cottage for two people

A Pinterest-pretty, one-bedroom architect conversion in the Cairngorms National Park, Loch an Eilein Cottage was built in 1813. Today this old stone cottage is light and contemporary inside, with a double-fronted wood-burning stove (that’s back-to-back fires in the bedroom and living room), a quirky pencil point bed, white tongue-and-groove walls and a charming window seat looking out onto the neighbouring loch.

The open-plan kitchen is well kitted-out for cooks and stocked with a welcome hamper from the nearby farm shop, but if you want to eat out, the cottage’s website has a whole section for foodies, listing the local culinary hotspots.

The Old Bridge Inn down by the river is a local favourite. Hunker around an open fire with a plate of beetroot and dill-cured salmon or a steak. Right on your doorstep The Druie in Rothiemurchus is a rustic café (decorated by the same designer as the cottage). The deli counter is perfect for picnics brimming with homemade quiches, salads and mezze (created by chef Ghillie Basan, who also runs cookery workshops). The Hidden Highland Retreats team can organise champagne picnics by the river along with foraging and cooking experiences.

Sleeps two, from £850 for a three-night short break or £1,600 per week; hiddenhighlandretreats.com

Lodge Farm, Freston, Suffolk – farm cottages for two, four and six people

You won’t need to swing by a supermarket on your way to the handful of farm cottages at Lodge Farm. They’re set on the same estate as the award-winning Suffolk Food Hall. The “Champion of Champions” in what have been dubbed the Countryside Alliance’s Rural Oscars, this cattle barn turned farm shop is within walking distance of all three cottages here – The Dairy (sleeps 6), the Parlour (sleeps 4) and the Buttery (sleeps 2).

The shop stocks everything a hungry holidaymaker could want, with an on-site butcher (selling pork from the farm’s pigs and beef from the farm’s Red Poll cattle), baker, deli, fishmonger and chocolatier to choose from. No fewer than 222 local suppliers sell their goods there, among them an old dairy farm down the road that produces Mature Shipcord, a traditionally produced cheese.

From £418 per week for The Buttery, £889 per week for The Parlour, and £1,044 per week for The Dairy; lodgefarmsuffolk.co.uk

Nantwen, Pembrokeshire, Wales – eco-cottage for two people

If the idea of an eco-cottage conjures images of composting toilets and windows slung with dreamcatchers Nantwen will challenge your preconceptions. This one-bedroom converted cowshed, surrounding by wildflower meadows outside the seaside village of Newport, may have solar panels and a biomass boiler but it’s also smart and stylish, with a slate-tiled wet room, restful white walls, goose-down duvets and heated wooden floors.

Owned by a jeweller and a cellist, there’s a creativity about Nantwen that extends to the food. The couple have won awards for their handmade chocolate (their raw cacao-based bars come in five different flavours, including peanut butter, fig and raspberry) and, while a carefully hand-picked welcome pack is still provided (local jam or honey, tea, coffee and fresh bread), guests also now have the chance to pre-order homemade cakes, artisan hot chocolate, local apple juice, granola, eggs, bacon, cheese, milk and more. A sumptuous 'Afternoon tea' can also be requested so that it's waiting for you on arrival (cheese and chutney, ham and mustard and egg and cress sandwiches, chocolate brownies, lemon polenta cake and scones with jam and cream.) The owners also recommend a local chef who can deliver meals to your door.

Sleeps two, from £285 for a three-night short break or from £545 per week; nantwen.co.uk

Highbrook Cottage, Powys, Wales – cottage for four people

This charmingly decorated cottage was surrounded by fields of Welsh lambs when we visited in March. But the food connection is actually more of a drink link: owners James and Susan are gradually planting the fields with vines, so far producing 800 bottles of four different natural wines each year. You can choose between two reds, and either a rich pétillant or a champagne-style white (£25-£35 a bottle). Order in advance then enjoy your bottle either outside next to the babbling brook that runs through the front of the property (sometimes visited by a group of ducks), or under Welsh blankets in front of the lounge log-burner – depending on the weather.

Work up an appetite by walking the surrounding hills – the countryside is beautiful and criss-crossed with footpaths – or you’re not far from the beautiful Brecon Beacons. Either cook up a storm in the small but fully equipped kitchen, or visit one of the many traditional old pubs nearby. Foodie mecca Ludlow is a short drive away, or consider booking Michelin-starred Pensons restaurant an hour away.

Sleeps four; from £110 per night (three-night minimum stay) or £700 per week, whinyardrocks.com

Glen Dye Cabins and Cottages

Glen Dye Cabins and Cottages sits within a 30,000-acre estate in Kincardineshire. Choose from Steading Cottage, with its own woodland hot tub, North Lodge, with a romantic riverside summerhouse, or The Sawmill, with its converted Airstream trailer and private outdoor shower. With interiors designed by the estate’s owners, Pedlars founders Charlie and Caroline Gladstone, and Big Green Eggs to cook on, this is seriously decadent glamping.

For eating out there’s Spider on a Bicycle café in Aboyne or Buchanan Bistro in Banchory.

Check rates and availability at glendyecabinsandcottages.com

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