Deciding what to do for New Year’s Eve is often a stressful and daunting task, especially when there are lots of different needs to please.
Shunning expensive clubs, busy restaurants and freezing outdoor firework displays, many groups of friends and families are opting for getaways in characterful cottages. And remarkably, there’s still some availability at several properties – ranging from remote barns in the Lake District to liveable artworks in Essex.
Be quick to snap up these options before the countdown begins….
Bird How, Lake District
Best for silence and solitude
If hosting extended family over the holiday season has driven you Christmas crackers, this off-grid cottage on a remote fell-side will provide some welcome relief. Drive down a rough farm track to reach the converted cow barn in a lesser-known area of the Lake District National Park, where some great hiking trails wind directly from the doorstep. Walk up the steepest road in England, Hardknott Pass, and take an alternative route to reach Scafell Pike. There’s no phone reception, TV signal or bathroom – instead, washing is done in the kitchen and a toilet is located in the basement where cows were once milked.
Four-night stay from £607 (£38pppn, sleeping four); nationaltrust.org.uk
South Shore Lodge, Brownsea Island
Best for childhood adventures
Find dainty red squirrels scampering through the woodlands of Dorset’s famous storybook island, cherished by Enid Blyton’s Famous Five. Jump on a ferry from Poole Quay to reach the National Trust nature park, where multiple bird species (including oystercatchers, dunlins and spoonbills) come to over-winter. Sleeping overnight in a beachside Victorian conversion, it’s possible to enjoy the magic of the island after all the day visitors have left.
Four-night stay from £935 (£19.50 pppn, sleeping 12); nationaltrust.org.uk
A House for Essex, North Essex
Best for party posers
Any property designed by artist Grayson Perry could hardly be called suburban. This two-bedroom house overlooking the River Stour in the village of Wrabness in North Essex may be on the outskirts of London, but it’s far from being parochial. A golden roof and windows echo pilgrimage chapels…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Independent Travel…