A luxury cottage holiday is made all the better when you add in some unique activities or fun things to do. They help you make fantastic memories, but also offer you special insights, the opportunity to learn something or even find a new hobby. Here, are some ideas for holidays in cottages perfect for unique activities.
If you love animals and haven’t had the pleasure of spending time with an alpaca, you’re missing out. These adorable creatures are known for their calm temperament and are often used as therapy animals. So, whether you’re looking for a unique animal encounter or an unusual way to relax, why not walk an alpaca?
Tibbiwell Alpacas, based in the idyllic Cotswold town of Painswick, offers alpaca experiences including treks and picnics. You will interact with these gentle animals, be able to stroke their soft fleeces and even hand feed them, all against the picturesque backdrop of the Cotswold Hills.
Walks cost £30 per adult and £15 per child (correct at time of writing) and can be booked through Tibbiwell Alpacas.
Where to stay? Fig Tee Cottage (sleeps 6) and Wellie Boot Cottage (sleeps 2) are both located in Painswick.
Fancy getting creative? The stunning Yorkshire Wolds countryside is a wonderful environment to get those artistic juices flowing. Our featured properties Blacksmith’s Shop (sleeps 2), Rabbitdale Barn (sleeps 4) and Cowdale Cottage (sleeps 6), offer just the answer. They are all great cottages for unique experiences.
The owner of the cottages, which are beautiful barn conversions all on one site, is an expert in wire sculpting. Taking inspiration from your surroundings, she will teach you to create your very own sculpture. Classes run for the full day and a homemade lunch with wine can be included at an additional fee.
Still feeling creative? Art classes run by a local artist can be arranged too, whether you’re a beginner or a little more accomplished.
Please contact our Guest Services team to enquire about availability, cost and pre-booking these experiences.
If you’ve ever fancied trying your hand at beekeeping and doing your bit for the UK honeybee population, now is your chance. The Old Mill, a former watermill (sleeps 2) and Wood Cottage, a former stable (sleeps 4), are both located in the same 30 stunning acres of grounds that happen to have beehives.
From the start of May to the end of September, the owner hosts a Beekeeping Experience (weather dependent and at an additional fee). Donned in a beekeeper’s suit, you will get up close to the beehive and get hands on too. You will hear all about the lifecycle roles of the bees, get an insight into the day in the life of a beekeeper and find out what equipment you will need to take up beekeeping yourself.
You will also enjoy a stroll through the meadow and woodland around the cottages to find out more about nature’s larder and how to plant for bees and other pollinators.
Please contact our Guest Services team to enquire about availability, cost and pre-booking this experience.
oin the Head Gardener for a tour of the gardens at Queen Anne Estate in the Vale of Glamorgan. Whether you consider yourself a horticulturist or simply love beautiful blooms, this informative tour is a pleasure.
Home to many rare and unique plants, the gardens incorporate an 18th-century walled garden, herbaceous borders, woodland gardens, Japanese gardens and a formal rose garden. Particular highlights include the thousands of bulbs that flower in an incredible springtime display, the ancient wisteria that creeps up the manor of the estate that blossoms from April and the acers that bring autumn colour from September. There is something to see all year round.
You will also learn about the history of the estate that dates to 1320 and be shown the lake and the temple. You might even meet the resident alpacas and rare breed sheep. As if that wasn’t enough, there is the opportunity to purchase plants to take home too.
You can enjoy this experience at Queen Anne Estate that comprises a number of properties. However, see ‘The Space’ section of the listing to find accommodation suitable for you.
Please contact our Guest Services team to enquire about availability, cost and pre-booking this experience.
Do you love to feel the breeze rushing by as you pick up pace on a bike ride? Cycling is a fantastic way to travel as you explore the countryside. No carbon footprint and the opportunity to easily pull in when and where you wish.
The Somerset Levels is a beautiful place for a cycling adventure. Comprising flat, wet meadows and low hills, and a haven for wildlife, the landscape is wonderfully dramatic. Windmill Flower Barn and Windmill Old Orchard shepherd’s hut that both sleep 2 guests, are a great place to base yourself. They both enjoy a rural setting on a 10-acre plot of fields and paddocks in the heart of the Somerset Levels.
Plus, the owner is a keen cyclist and offers guided cycling tours of the local area. Or, he will happily offer route ideas for a self-guided tour. There are plenty of cycling routes locally, quiet country roads and pretty villages to discover – perfect for a cake and coffee break along the way. If you haven’t got your own bikes, they can be hired locally in Langport.
Please contact our Guest Services team to enquire about availability, cost and pre-booking this experience.
Unleash the inner wild child with some adventure activities. Perfect for a large group stay, the impressive Cornish Castle (sleeps 22) has a wide variety of ways to keep yourselves entertained, all against the backdrop of 55 acres of surrounding gardens and valleys.
Pursuits include clay shooting (April to June), the ideal way for you to enjoy some friendly competition with family, friends or colleagues, while enjoying the fresh air and views of Cornwall’s countryside.
Other activities that can be arranged include thrilling 4×4 experiences, Segway adventures and archery. What’s more the estate also has an outdoor solar-heated swimming pool to relax in, before you head indoors to unwind in surroundings that are fit for royalty.
Please contact our Guest Services team to enquire about availability, cost and pre-booking this experience.
Imagine staying in a Grade II listed country house on a stunning private estate with a lake. You can make this dream a reality with a stay at Roupel Hall (sleeps 12) in North Devon.
This wonderful Georgian home, surrounded by 38 acres of gardens, parkland and woodland, is perfect for family holidays, reunions and special occasions. What’s more there are lots of relaxing ways to have fun here, including taking the canoe or rowing boat for a gentle cruise on the spring-fed lake.
The setting is so serene, that once you reach the middle, it’s blissful to simply drift for a moment or two and listen to the sounds of nature around you – there is plenty of wildlife that call the grounds ‘home’. If you prefer, the lake is also perfect for a dark water wild swim.
Please contact our Guest Services team to enquire about this experience.
Enjoy an exhilarating sightseeing trip by helicopter from either Upper Tumble Cottage, Middle Tumble Cottage or Lower Tumble Cottage. This cluster of three bespoke cottages is surrounded by the owners’ farmland in the picturesque Powys countryside and helicopter flights can be arranged for take-off from the grounds.
As you ascend and travel over the countryside you will get a bird’s-eye-view of some of the UK’s most spectacular scenery form the Welsh Mountains to the Shropshire Hills. Depending on your route, highlights may include the Severn Valley and the impressive Powis Castle.
There is a choice of shared flights that depart on certain days, or you can hire a helicopter for exclusive use for the ultimate private tour.
Please contact our Guest Services team to enquire about availability, cost and pre-booking this experience.
If you love being outdoors and your little ones love farm animals, a stay at Bilberry Bank Cottage (sleeps 8) is an excellent idea. This child and dog-friendly cottage is set in quiet and picturesque countryside on the edge of the Peak District and is nestled amongst the owners’ working farm.
The owners offer a relaxed and friendly farm tour which is perfect for children (and big kids too) who are allowed to meet and feed the animals, including Betty and Barbara the rare breed pigs, Veronica the sheep and the free-range chickens and Indian runner ducks. During lambing season the Lambing Barn is open for guests to witness live births, hold the lambs and bottle feed them.
You will also be free to wander around the farm at your leisure, or you can explore the nature trail. Meanwhile, back at the cottage you can get cosy before preparing for dinner in the outdoor dining dome – truly worthy of a mention – that offers fantastic views of the countryside.
If you want to find somewhere to enjoy back-to-back outdoor thrills, you’ll want the right setting. The Retreat, set on a farm estate in Hampshire, is just the place.
Here, a host of adventures can be pre-arranged for groups, particularly for corporate events. They range from axe-throwing competitions to Segway slaloms against the clock. There are plenty of indoor activities available to book too, from balancing blocks to see who is the quickest to build a tower, to a test of your reaction speeds with a Batak Challenge.
To top the day off, you can pre-order pizzas made on-site in the pizza oven, order drinks from the bar and retreat to stylish bedrooms for the night.
Please contact our Guest Services team to enquire about availability, cost and pre-booking these experiences at the property.
Retreat to a tranquil haven for wildlife in Scotland’s Clackmannanshire at Foresters Cottage. Set in the heart of a beautiful and largely untouched country estate in Scotland with a unique ancestry and a dedication to conservation, it is perfect for a wildlife adventure.
The cottage is surrounded by 1,000 acres that includes 400 acres of woodlands, including ancient trees. There are lots of woodland trails to explore and guided nature tours to book.
Amongst the birds, mammals, reptiles and insects that thrive here are bats. Three species of bats in fact: soprano and common pipistrelle and long-eared. Bats can be seen anywhere on the estate between sunset and sunrise. Why not learn more about them on a guided bat walk where species can be identified from the bat’s call using a special hand-held bat detector?
Please contact our Guest Services team to enquire about availability, cost and pre-booking this and other nature experiences at the property.
Netherby Hall in Longtown, Cumbria hosts an annual classic car show in August. This historic house and grounds provide the most beautiful countryside setting for the weekend-long show that showcases a host of classic, vintage, performance and super cars.
As well as the cars, there are food, drink and local craft stalls to peruse, while for the ultimate weekend, you can book into one of Netherby Hall’s luxurious apartments or cottages.
In 2023, Netherby Hall Classic Car Show takes place on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th of August.
Contact our Guest Services team to enquire about accommodation availability and admission to the car show.
If you have any questions about any of our cottages or if you’d like some help with your booking, you are very welcome to get in touch with us.
We are always happy to help and go out of our way to tailor your perfect UK holiday.
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