Top cottages for active holidays

Looking for inspiration for your holiday break? Why not take a look at our best holiday cottages for an active getaway. We’ve got coastal cottages ideal for watersports, countryside escapes with walks from the front door and places next to off-road tracks and cycle paths. Every booking helps support our work looking after special places, for ever, for everyone.

The beautiful Gower is home to 1 Coastguard Cottage

1 Coastguard Cottage, Rhossili, Gower 

Overlooking the stunning and dramatic beach at Rhossili, this cliff-top former Station Officers house is the last cottage before the Worms Head, a tidal island which can only be reached via a causeway for two and a half hours either side of low tide. There’s rock climbing above the beach at Rhossili including opportunities for deep-water soloing. Nearby Llangennith beach is one of the best-known surf spots in the country and is also one of our top surfing beaches.
Sleeps 6.

Get active on the beach at 1 Coastguard Cottage
A cosy fire is the focus of the sitting room in the Carpenter's Cottage

Carpenter's Cottage, Ickworth, Suffolk 

Carpenter’s Cottage is tucked away within the heart of the 1800-acre Ickworth Estate and has direct access to its extensive network of well-marked walking, running and cycling trails. You can choose from recommended routes of varying distances or make your own way using the paths that criss-cross the estate. Further afield you can also explore the walking and cycling routes at Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve, a wetland wildlife haven.
Sleeps 4.

Take to the trail from Carpenter's Cottage
The exterior of the coastguard holiday cottages, Isle of Wight

Coastguard Cottages, Totland Bay, Isle of Wight 

Irex, Pomone and Varvassi are a row of former coastguard cottages above Totland Bay on the Needles headland. As well as offering spectacular sea views, paths from outside the cottages lead across Tennyson Down to Freshwater Bay, popular for surfing and other watersports including kayaking. Horse riding is also possible nearby and bike hire can be arranged with your book including delivery to the cottages – this applies to all our Isle of Wight holiday cottages.
Cottages sleep 4 or 5.
Dogs welcome (up to 2 per cottage).

Have an island holiday at Coastguard Cottages
A picture book Cotswold cottage set in Snowshill, near Broadway

Honor's Cottage, Snowshill, Gloucestershire 

A former gardener's cottage, Honor’s Cottage in Snowshill is full of country charm and Cotswold character. Be sure to pack your walking boots as there are some wonderful walks in the area including on Dover’s Hill, which has views over the Vale of Evesham, the Cotswold Way National Trail, which goes through nearby Broadway, and many other footpaths and bridleways which take in the picturesque villages and rolling hills of the Cotswolds.
Sleeps 3.
Dogs welcome (1).

Explore the Cotswolds from Honor's Cottage
The kitchen/dining area in Lark Cottage, Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire

Lark, Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire 

One of five converted farm buildings set around a courtyard at How Hill on the Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal estate, Lark and its neighbouring cottages are ideal for families or groups looking to holiday together while enjoying their own space. Bring your bikes and retrace the 2014 Tour de France route through nearby Ripon or tackle the Way of the Roses cycle route. You can also have a stomp on the Fountains Abbey estate or join in with the weekly Fountains Abbey parkrun.
Sleeps 4.

Bring your bikes to Lark cottage
Exterior of Mohun Cottage, Fowey

Mohun, Fowey Estuary, Cornwall 

Mohun is a sweet little hideaway and part of the converted farmhouse at the head of Pont Pill creek on the Fowey Estuary. It has lovely views of the tidal creek and footpaths connect it to Boddinick and Polruan where ferries run across the water to Fowey. There are lots of opportunities to get on the water and either hire boats and canoes or take guided tours of the many creeks and waterways of this beautiful part of Cornwall. Lantic Bay and Lansallos beach are also nearby.
Sleeps 2.

Enjoy water-based fun from Mohun
Pontbraddan Cottage, Northern Ireland

Pontbraddan Cottage, White Park Bay, County Antrim 

Portbraddan Cottage is a charming coastal retreat with a cottage garden at the western end of White Park Bay. As well as beach activities including swimming and surfing, boat trips to Rathlin Island and golf and horse riding nearby, the cottage has access to fantastic walks. These include the Causeway Coast Way which runs west to the Giant’s Causeway and east to Carrick-a-Rede, where a dramatic rope bridge suspended 100ft (30m) above the sea connects the mainland to Rocky Island.

Explore the coast from Pontbraddan Cottage
Exterior of Rockside Cottage, Northumberland

Rockside Cottage, Low Newton, Northumberland 

Formerly a fisherman’s cottage, Rockside Cottage is just two minutes’ walk from the sandy beach at Low Newton and has views towards nearby Embleton Bay and Dunstanburgh Castle. The wide sandy beach and waters of Embleton Bay make it popular for watersports including windsurfing, surfing and kitesurfing and there's also golf available nearby. The area is also ideal for keen walkers with trails along the coastline including from Craster to Low Newton.
Sleeps 4.
Dogs welcome (up to 2).

Discover the coast from Rockside Cottage
Exterior of Rose Castle Cottage, Cumbria

Rose Castle Cottage, near Coniston, Cumbria  

One of the highlights of a stay at Rose Castle Cottage is the breath-taking views from the track on the approach to the cottage. The 19th-century cottage is situated high above Tarn Hows in a truly tranquil location with no neighbours on the horizon. Comfortable and cosy but with few of the trappings of modern life, it’s the perfect place to reconnect with nature. There are fantastic walks right from the doorstep and plenty of challenges nearby including the Old Man of Coniston.
Sleeps 4.

Take a stroll from Rose Castle Cottage
View of the bathroom at White Edge Lodge, and the view from the bathroom windows

White Edge Lodge, Longshaw Estate, Derbyshire 

A former gamekeeper’s cottage surrounded by the open heather moorland of White Edge Moor, views extend more than 20 miles down the Derwent Valley and up to the Dark Peak. With a network of bridleways, footpaths and climbing edges, the surrounding countryside is paradise for outdoor fans and the cottage is the ideal base for exploring the wider Peak District National Park – try a challenging cycle route through the high country of the nearby Edale Valley.
Sleeps 5.
Dogs welcome (up to 2).

Enjoy the views at White Edge Lodge