A Holiday Home With History won FIRST PRIZE in the NAWG Article Writing Competition
 

Bored with staying in a uniform holiday apartment on the Mediterranean coast?  Fed up with living for two weeks in a Seventies built self-catering unit by the sea?  Looking for something that little bit different to make your self-catering holiday more interesting?  Here in the UK we’ve got some of the most fascinating and unusual self-catering properties anywhere in the world, and they’re easy to find once you know where to look.

            The diversity of our British history has left us with a wealth of unusual buildings, some of which are being turned into holiday accommodation.  It means you could stay in accommodation as varied and as exciting as a disused lighthouse, a 17^th Century Manor Gatehouse, a water tower or a Castle Courtyard.  Staying in such a property can also be beneficial.  Many of these buildings are managed by charitable organisations that plough the profits back into their charitable work.

            One such charity is the Landmark Trust.  Set up forty years ago in 1965, its aim is to rescue historical buildings, restore them to their former glory, and then let them out as holiday accommodation to allow people to enjoy living in them again.  It has saved over 200 properties and currently 178 of them are now let out to excited holidaymakers.  The Trust’s founder, Sir John Smith said people gained a better understanding of a property by living in it, “by sleeping under its roof they profit far more from each place than by looking at it only; they can study it at leisure, be there early and late, in all lights and weathers.”

            Converting an unusual building into self-catering holiday accommodation can be a thought provoking process, leading to some unusual (by today’s standards) room layouts.  Bathrooms can be several floors up or in a completely different building!  You have to remember that some of these properties didn’t have bathrooms when they were originally constructed.

            If you’ve ever wandered around a large estate or a Stately home and wondered what it must be like to live there, then this is the sort of holiday cottage to look for.  I say ‘cottage’ but you could find yourself in a 16^th Century Manor House, an old Railway Station or a Castle.

            In addition to the enjoyment of living in such an exciting property, you’ll find the interiors just as rewarding.  The Landmark Trust put a lot of effort into recreating their properties.  Their handbook advises that they prefer properties to “feel comfortably worn and not as if they were decorated and furnished yesterday”.  You certainly won’t find any flat pack furniture in these buildings.  Attention to detail is important too.  Allow your finger to glide along a bookshelf and you’ll find publications about the local area and literary tombs with local connections.

            The National Trust, and the National Trust for Scotland also let out self-catering accommodation.  Some of the properties are unusual buildings, such as the Water Tower on the Trelissick Estate in Cornwall, or the Mustard Pot Cottage on the Felbrigg Estate in Norfolk.  If you’ve ever been to a National Trust property, you’ve probably wandered around the great house, meandered through the gardens or the extended grounds before finding the teashop and then going back home.  But these huge estates also contain many other buildings once used by estate workers.  These are perfect for conversion to holiday accommodation and are still steeped in history.  Staying in them may also provide you the opportunity to wander around the grounds when everyone else has gone home.  You really can pretend to be Lord of the Manor!

            The location of many National Trust properties means that not only will you be staying in a beautiful building, but you’ll be also be holed up in a stunning setting.  In the Lake District, the National Trust is one of the largest landowners, and as a result they have properties in some stunning locations.  High Strawberry Gardens and Low Strawberry Gardens are two such properties, sitting on the western shore of Windermere.  In fact they’re so close they’re only 10 yards from the water’s edge.  So, how would you like to wake up in the morning to see Windermere out of your bedroom window? 

However, if you’d prefer to lift your eyelids each morning and be greeted by the sight of the Isle of Arran and the Mull of Kintyre framed by your bedroom window then the Eisenhower Apartment at Culzean Castle is the place for you.  It’s not cheap, but then you would be living in recent history.  When the Marquess of Ailsa gave the Culzean Estate to the National Trust he asked for the top floor of the castle to be given to General Eisenhower, as a thank you from Scotland for commanding Scottish troops during the Second World War.  Eisenhower did stay here on four occasions, once during his capacity as President of the United States, and then three more times afterwards.  It is now available for the public to hire, for that really special holiday.  Remember to increase your credit card limit before you go!

            Again it needs to be remembered that living in these properties is different to living in modern accommodation.  Staircases may not be wooden flights, but stone or metal spirals instead.  Some properties do not permit the installation of central heating, so background night storage heaters may be available with the use of log fires when the weather gets colder.

            The National Trust (in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) has an Acorn quality grading scheme, which reflects the quality of the property and the interior furnishings.  All properties have some sort of background heating.  There are some properties with unusual quirks, which can make a holiday so different from your previous breaks.  The properties on the shores of Windermere for example, only have electricity for the lighting circuit – a recent upgrade because they used to boast gas lighting.

            The Landmark Trust properties do not contain a television or a telephone, so they are the perfect antidotes to anyone wishing to escape from the hassles of modern day living.   Despite this, the organisation appreciates that you are on holiday, so you can rely on modern bathrooms and kitchens.  Some of the larger properties even boast dishwashers and freezers!

            It can be easy to forget that the motor car is a relatively modern invention, when compared to some of the properties that you can hire.  As a result, parking may not be as close to the property as you are used to at home.  Elizabethan Manors had little call for car parking spaces at the time they were built.

            Browsing through the properties available couldn’t be easier these days.  With the advent of the Internet, it’s possible to view a property, find out about its quirks and qualities and even book online.  Traditional brochure catalogues are also available, but there may be a small charge for them (further details below).  The Landmark Trust Handbook however, is a glossy publication, which doesn’t look out of place on any coffee table.  It provides drawings of the room layouts for each floor of the property, giving you a unique insight into what you can expect to find when you get there.  There is also information on how to book some of its properties on Lundy Island, a three mile strip of land rising some four hundred feet out of the Bristol Channel.  Accessible only by boat or in bad weather by helicopter, it’s a great opportunity to be completely outnumbered by Puffins and seals.  And there are no banks, fast food outlets or national chain stores to be found here.  In fact all you’ll find is a pub which sells groceries for those holidaying on the island. 

            So next time you fancy a holiday with a difference, why not consider something really unusual, and experience a holiday home full of history?   Perhaps the only way to escape the everyday pressures of modern living is to step back in time to a period when such pressures didn’t exist.  This isn’t just taking a holiday.  It’s quite literally, taking time out from the 21^st Century.

Further Information

The Landmark Trust

Shottesbrooke

Maidenhead

Berkshire

SL6 3SW

Booking Tel: 01628 825925

Website: www.landmarktrust.org.uk

Handbook Price: £9.50 (Refundable against a booking)

The National Trust (for cottages in England, Wales and Northern Island)

The National Trust (Enterprises) Ltd

Holiday Booking Office

PO Box 536

Melksham

Wiltshire

SN12 8SX

Booking Tel: 0870 458 4422

Website: www.nationaltrustcottages.co.uk

Brochure Price: £2.00

The National Trust For Scotland

Wemyss House

28 Charlotte Square

Edinburgh

EH2 4ET

Booking Tel: 0131 243 9331

Website: www.nts.org.uk (and click on the ‘Holidays’ link)

Brochure Price: Free