Unusual places to stay UK: Quirky and family friendly

See also our features on Unusual Places to Stay in Europe and Unusual Places to Stay Outside Europe, and on Glamping with Kids in the UK.

ENGLAND

Cley Windmill

A very special and characterful place to stay on the north Norfolk coast, this 18th-century windmill looking out over Blakeney Marshes and the sea offers both B&B and self-catering (the latter in its Dovecote cottage for 4 in the old stables).

Crown Hill Fort

Owned by the Landmark Trust, this Devon fort (sleeping 8) is a fabulous place to bring boys – once the building as a whole (built to protect the naval harbour at Plymouth in the 1860s and bristling with replica guns and cannons) is closed to the public, it’s all theirs to run around and re-enact battle scenes in.

The Enchanted Manor

This crazy, fabulous, dream manor on the Isle of Wight will be a little over-the top for some but is a great spot for those who enjoy a touch of the fantastical, with badger-watching from an ‘enchanted folly’ among the highlights. Fairy costumes are optional

Forest Holidays Treehouse Cabins  

The latest innovation at some of the Forest Holidays sites (those at Deerpark in Cornwall, Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, and Keldy in North Yorkshire) are extensions to some of its three-bed Golden Oak Cabins of an additional ensuite bedroom within a treehouse accessed by an ‘adventurers’ bridge’. These extended cabins sleep up to eight in total.

The House in the Clouds

This extraordinary old water tower in the 1920s holiday resort of Thorpeness in Suffolk sleeps up to 12 over seven floors, so it’s a great place for a holiday with family or friends. The galleried games room at the top has amazing countryside and North Sea views.

South Lodge, Battle Abbey

The gatehouse at Battle Abbey in East Sussex (sleeping 4) is just one of many interesting – and surprisingly stylish – places to stay offered by English Heritage. Many are in the grounds of castles or other spectacular historic buildings, so families can get a history lesson close up.

Tresco

The second largest of the Scilly Isles off Cornwall is a very special place to stay, especially if you choose to arrive by light plane or helicopter (there’s also a ferry). There’s a small hotel, cottages, self-catering in the Flying Boat Club (cedar-clad beachfront houses), a pub with rooms, or the seriously fabulous but child-friendly gourmet retreat Hell Bay.

WALES

Portmeirion

Families can take part in all ‘The Prisoner’ madness by staying in a castle, an Art Deco hotel or several self-catering cottages built by the visionary architect of this Italianate tourist village.

Snowdonia Manor

One of the oldest inhabited houses in Wales offers a cottage for up to 4 in its grounds, but the real attraction is its private railway station where you can hail passing steam trains.

SCOTLAND

The Auld Kirk

This ‘restaurant with rooms’ is set in a beautiful old chapel in Aberdeen, with six comfortable guestrooms, a serious attitude to Scottish produce and cookery, and plenty of outdoors activities on the doorstep so you can work up a healthy appetite.

Gearrannan Blackhouse Village

You can stay in one of three traditional blackhouses (for 2, 5 and 16 people) in this crofting village on the Isle of Lewis – the essence of an ‘authentic’ holiday that leaves nothing to desire when it comes to getting away from it all. Visitors can enjoy traditional rural activities, outdoor pursuits including watersports and fishing, and wildlife-watching.

The Pineapple

Though the Landmark Trust has plenty of eccentric places to choose from, none are more so than The Pineapple in Dunmore in central Scotland, sleeping 4. Covered by prickly stone leaves, the fruity summerhouse folly built for the 4th Earl of Dunmore presides over a huge walled garden.