Newsletters and press releases
Peruse the latest updates from Unique Homestays HQ in our Newsletter and Press Release Archive.
Come on in, the water´s fine
Summer may be slipping away, but pool days are staying a little longer – as many of our homeowners with outdoor pools will be keeping them open until the end of October. From heated pools tucked in walled gardens to those with soul-stirring sea views, autumn swims hold a distinct magic come rain or shine. Cool air, warm water, and the fiery hues of turning leaves make every dip feel cinematic.
A beachside oasis
Flanked by the sand dunes of Holywell Bay and close to the tropical biome where an iconic James Bond scene was filmed, The Limit is a luxury beach hut in an extraordinary location. In this owner chronicle, we speak to homeowners Rebecca and Steve, who transformed a forgotten 1930s beach hut, once tangled in brambles and ivy, into a relaxing coastal bolthole. Complete with ocean views to rival any Malibu retreat, a sandy path to the sea and a hot tub, The Limit feels like a tonic for the soul.
Book your Christmas escape
Christmas is a time of expression: of love, gratitude and celebration. And our homes are often at the heart of it all; places where treasured holiday traditions unfold under one merry roof.
A cultural immersion
Picture exploring Capability Brown landscapes at dawn or gazing at the same Atlantic views that inspired St Ives´ artistic revolution. Imagine staying at a retreat whose muse lies in the enigmatic world of Soviet sci-fi cinema. With the keys to these remarkable homes, access to cultural treasures comes as standard.
Half-term hideaways
A season for lovers and poets. A “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” as Keats once wrote. No words better capture the magic of autumn in Britain. This October, experience it for yourself in a homestay that’s anything but ordinary. Family walks beneath canopies of golden leaves, cinnamon buns in a country kitchen, sinking into a wood-fired hot tub beneath a soft amber sky - summer holidays may be over, but half-term will come around soon enough.
End summer in style
As the bank holiday begins, the meteorological gods are seemingly conspiring in our favour. The BBC´s weather desk reports south-easterly winds carrying continental warmth across the British isles in the coming days, while September sees children return to school and crystalline coasts comparably empty. All languid afternoons and soft evening light: this is late summer as it should be.
New arrival: Drift Farmhouse
In the Irish countryside, where time slows and the light moves with intent, a family has made a home – and a living – for 160 years. Set within an undulating landscape shaped by glacial flow, this recently renovated farmhouse near Castleblayney has carved space not only for light and air, but for the owner’s passion for wellness – of body and of mind. With a gym, yoga studio, sauna, hot tub and indoor Endless Pool, Drift Farmhouse is a meditation on presence that affords the ultimate luxury: clarity of thought.
New Arrival: The Counterpoint
In lesser-known Cornwall, an artist and a musician have created the most significant work of their lives. The exterior is inspired by postminimalist artist Richard Serra, all charred Japanese larch, corten steel and copper. But inside, through every carefully selected object, this retreat tells the story of a life together. The Counterpoint isn’t just a house. It’s a home.
A RIBA award-winner
Enveloped by the meadows, woodlands and streams that inspired Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable, it´s perhaps hard to believe that Elberta Barn is only an hour and a half from London. In this owner chronicle, we speak with homeowner Joanne, a gallery and museum curator turned landscape designer, who reimagined an untouched 18th century threshing barn on the Suffolk–Essex border into a unique residence.
In conversation with Tess Newall
Decorative artist Tess Newall is known for her hand-painted murals and distinctive wallpapers, which infuse classic country homes and modern interiors alike with a sense of reverie. Influenced by a background in theatre and film, as well as a love of nature and historic spaces, Tess creates story-like scenes that turn walls into works of art. We caught up with Tess to talk process, projects, and the quiet magic of murals in everyday life.
New arrival: The Outpost
In Snowdonia’s Conwy Valley, The Outpost is a former servicemen’s convalescence lodge reimagined as a frontier-style cabin for two. Reached by a private bridge and encircled by trees, this retreat invites you to disconnect from routine and recharge. Inside, interiors nod to the American West and an open-plan layout draws in light. Outside, a woodfired hot tub and pergola offer stargazing spots beneath some of Britain’s darkest skies.
Sustainable retreats to tread softly with
Sustainable design reveals itself in the smallest, most deliberate of details. A building orientated precisely to capture summer solstice light. Spring water flowing through copper pipes. Salvaged timber bearing the subtle marks of its previous life. Rooms insulated by the earth. These homes stand as evidence that low-impact design and exceptional hospitality need not be mutually exclusive.
New arrival: Morse
What may, at first glance, appear an unassuming green mound camouflaged into this corner of West Cornwall is a home blending an important past, clever design and fortunate position just moments from Cornwall´s most heralded stretch of coast. Now out of hiding, Morse is a WWII bunker like never seen before.
School´s out, summer´s in
The joy of throwing open those school doors and running into the summertime bliss: where days of the week get lost in the haze of beach swims, picnics on daisy-strewn lawns and jam tart-making around granny´s kitchen table. Settle into a home-away-from-home this summer. There´s still time to book that family trip to the coast or countryside that you´ve been dreaming about.
Holidays by design: award-winning architectural escapes
With RIBA accolades and LABC Building Excellence awards, these properties represent the pinnacle of architectural innovation. From a Napoleonic fortress to an unassuming barn (on the outside, at least), visionary designers have reimagined these spaces while honouring their heritage. They demonstrate that a building can be both practical in purpose, yet exceptional in execution.
Unique Homestays x Out of the Valley
Unique Homestays joins forces with Out of the Valley to launch a wilderness sauna series at some of their most nature-embracing homes.
New arrival: Riverstone Mill
Slow living enthusiasts, meet Riverstone Mill. A converted watermill that has sat silently between the trees in Cornwall´s rural heart, until now. Sunshine-filled rooms blend seamlessly with eight acres of magical grounds that encircle. A river, cottage garden and orchard await exploration; while an outdoor pool and wellness deck with hot tub, sauna and plunge pool promise restorative summer days. Worlds away from city life, but within touching distance of some of Cornwall´s finest countryside and coast – this, surely, is paradise found. Hurry, there´s just nine weeks to snap up.
An architectural beach house
A restorative oasis on the north Cornwall coast, Senara is an architectural beach house with sweeping sea views towards Gwithian beach. In this owner chronicle, we speak with homeowner Melanie, who transformed a blank canvas into a ‘coastal-boho’ retreat with the help of local designers Tigah Interiors. There’s strength in its simplicity, with clean lines and calming hues that contrast with the wild stretch of coast on which it sits.
In partnership with Abigail Ahern
This summer, we’re partnering with Abigail Ahern – interior designer, author, and founder of the eponymous homeware brand – for an exclusive giveaway. In our recent journal, she discusses her journey, design philosophy, and how to create multi-sensory spaces that stir emotion. The winner will be gifted a three-night stay at The Signal Station on Cornwall’s dramatic Lizard Peninsula, along with a £1,000 voucher to spend on Abigail’s homeware collection.
Sun-drenched style
The British summertime often arrives unannounced, a sudden shift in a country where grey skies typically outnumber blue. As a nation more prepared for rain than heatwaves, we invite you to discover spaces that welcome the sunshine with open doors. Living areas aligned to catch the breeze like a sail, stone floors that feel cool beneath bare feet, lofty ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling windows that fold back onto gardens and glassy pools.
What a May!
Spring 2025 in the UK has been the warmest documented in a century. From dining al fresco to swimming in natural pools, pruning fragrant roses to lounging in hammocks, we´ve relished in our glorious gardens for weeks on end. So, now´s the time to book your secret garden stay to enjoy them at their very best.
Summer escapes to book now
Ah, the great British summer. Whether you’re looking to flee to the seaside, or drop off the radar amidst rolling green hills – when the sun is shining, summer holidays don’t get much better than on home soil.
A floating world
Ukiyo (meaning “floating world” in Japanese) denotes the concept of living in the moment, detached from life´s stresses. In this owner chronicle, we speak with property owner Simon about how his Cornish cliffside hideaway, reimagined with a modernist twist by Grand Designs´ Kathryn Tyler, embodies its namesake.
New Arrival: The Slate Path
Gazing over Trebarwith Strand and the glinting silhouette of Gull Rock, The Slate Path is a coastal sanctuary where barefoot days unfold in rhythm with the tides. Light-filled interiors echo the landscape in soft pastels and salty whites, while bedroom balconies and wraparound decking offer front-row seats to an ever-changing seascape. Here, mornings begin with bracing ocean swims and end in the hot tub under a canopy of stars.
New Arrival: Silva
On the southern edge of Loch Tay, Silva is a modern Highland sanctuary that blends eco-technology with Japanese restraint. A sense of calm envelopes the home, with floor-to-ceiling windows that capture the cinematic sweep from loch to Munros. Outdoors, rewilded terrain dissolves boundaries between sleek interiors and Scotland´s elemental beauty. Whether kayaking on the loch or cold water swimming, Silva offers a tranquil escape into nature.
Lendwithcare and Children’s Hospice South West
In 2025, we are proud to support Lendwithcare and Children’s Hospice South West, two causes that embody what we value: entrepreneurship and family.
It´s Back: Wishbone
Wishbone is back. Sold in 2023, this characterful property returns to our collection after a few years with its new owners, who have entrusted us to guide its next chapter.
New Arrival: Selkie
Surrounded by the wild beauty of the Isle of Skye, Selkie is an eco-conscious retreat designed for immersive connection with nature. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame views of Loch Harport and the Black Cuillin mountains, flooding minimalist interiors with light. Outdoors, a yoga deck and sauna offer perfect vantage points for wildlife spotting and stargazing. Whether kayaking, hiking or resting, Skye weaves an old magic that uplifts and recharges.
Paradise found in South Devon
After years between New York and Central America, Jennie Montgomery´s family found their forever home at The Lost Music Hall. This chapel-like structure by Thomas Lyon sits tucked in a secluded valley, peaceful yet close to Totnes. Built for Arthur Graham, both socialite and recluse, the property hosted lavish parties while providing a space for contemplation. Today, Jennie and her daughter gather flowers for guests from beautifully restored gardens, continuing the estate´s legacy of hospitality in their tranquil Devon sanctuary.
A South West Coast Path adventure
Next month, The Salt Path takes to the big screen. We head to the 630-mile stretch of South West Coast Path – where the story sets its scene – to follow in Winn’s footsteps, discovering 22 of our hidden gem coastal homes peppered along the route.
Farm and forest
As urbanites seek respite from digital overwhelm, nature´s embrace offers a nourishing alternative to coastal getaways. These rural retreats blend contemporary design with the soul of their surroundings, inviting guests to forage, ground and reconnect with the terrain. On the edge of Winnie-the-Pooh´s Ashdown Forest, Henry VIII´s hunting granary now hosts families beneath its vaulted ceiling, while a reimagined Cotswolds grain store vibrates with weekend gatherings. This month, we invite you to discover the analogue wonders of both the farm and the forest.
Ready to party, old sport?
A century ago, F. Scott Fitzgerald introduced the shimmering world of The Great Gatsby, a novel that still captivates with its glamour. To honour the milestone, we’ve curated a selection of celebration homes across the UK, perfect for channeling the spirit of the Roaring Twenties.
In conversation with Amy Brock Morgan
Artist Amy Brock Morgan´s story is woven with memories of sea air and the South West´s windswept shores. In our latest guest chronicle, she reveals how childhood lessons of repairing rather than replacing shaped her creative ethos. Today, her commissioned wall hangings, including a striking piece created for Penny Black in Devon, capture her commitment to sustainability alongside her role leading Finisterre´s ´Lived and Loved´ team.
Revamped Arrival: Penny Black
You may recognise this iconic cottage as long-standing Unique Homestay, The Riddle, which has recently undergone a thoughtful overhaul by our interior design team, alongside its new owners. Now going under the name of Penny Black, the home takes its namesake from its history as a post office on WH Smith´s family estate, where letters and parcels once passed through its doors, carrying stories from near and far.
The Irish cottages time forgot
In County Kerry, Brian and Catherine have transformed abandoned dwellings into soulful havens. Brian´s Lost Cottage preserves historical elements with minimalist white interiors; six miles away, sister Catherine´s Limehouse Cottage reveals its agrarian past through original stone and sustainable materials. Both homes meld into the landscape, from mountains to Atlantic shores, each offering an authentic connection to Ireland´s dramatic countryside.
The Easter edit
As bluebells carpet ancient woodlands and coastal paths burst with yellow gorse, our homes await your Easter traditions. This year, embrace flexibility with four-day breaks and customisable stays. From hedge mazes perfect for egg hunts to cottages with saunas and herb gardens where rosemary and wild garlic bloom, browse our Easter availability to secure the last remaining spring dates.
Designer insider: Emma Ainscough
Renowned for her playful and whimsical style, London-based interior designer Emma Ainscough brought her signature touch to Charlotte’s Folly – a fairytale cottage on the Bradford Estates. A thoughtful mix of colour, pattern and antique finds give this home a folkloric feel. With its striking red-and-white checkerboard kitchen and “granny-core” bedrooms, it´s a bold yet inviting retreat. Emma describes Charlotte’s Folly as “an exciting space full of subtle elements of surprise, to delight and inspire.”
Young hearts run free
Easter mornings hum with tradition and playful anarchy – egg hunts mapped with military precision, hot-cross-bun rivalries in full swing, and adventures that blur the years between generations. From Somerset to the Cotswolds, where pools are a morning ritual and trampolines send laughter skyward, these homes shape-shift with the day, hosting pancake feasts at dawn, lawn races come noon, and cinema screenings late into the night.
Owner Chronicles: Tincture
Hidden in the wild embrace of the Cambrian Mountains, Tincture is the off-grid sanctuary where James and Raffaella swapped city life for nature’s rhythm. They transformed the remote 17th-century farmhouse with a vision of simplicity – celebrating natural materials, craftsmanship and the verdant landscape. A place to recharge and reconnect, Tincture embodies their belief in thoughtful living, where creativity thrives and time slows.
Traitors-style escapes
People from all corners of the nation have been captivated by BBC One´s The Traitors. With season three drawing to a dramatic close, the much-anticipated betrayal and mischief is still playing out at the iconic Scottish highlands castle thanks to the US series. Here, we round up eight unique homes across the UK where you can live out your Traitors murder-mystery fantasies.
Secure your summer escape
With the sun lingering longer by the day, it won’t be long before the hazy days of summer land, and Met Office predictions suggest that this year will be one of the UK’s warmest on record. Browse our handpicked collection of family-friendly homes. From design-led boltholes by the sea to countryside manors with swimming pools and croquet lawns, secure your summer sanctuary before the weeks get snapped up.
Two´s company
This month we´re celebrating the UK´s most romantic retreats. A 12th-century folly restored to former grandeur watches over the Menai Strait, while amid Romney Marsh, a charming cabin blends English and prairie style. Stargaze from bed in a glass-roofed bolthole on Bodmin Moor, or revel in Lake Como glamour at an Italian-inspired boathouse near Oakham.
Happy Valentine´s weekend
Valentine´s Day fortuitously falls on a Friday this year – meaning romantic celebrations can lace their way through the entire weekend. However you choose to celebrate next month; be it sipping blush Brut in a beachside hot tub with your beau, or sprawled out on the sofa with your girlfriends for ´Galentine´s,´ we´ve got a luxury love nest to matchmake you with.
New Arrival: House on the Strand
Nearly a century ago, architect John Campbell´s serendipitous wanderings led to the creation of this remarkable home. Standing proudly on a private headland between Mevagissey and Gorran Haven, House on the Strand is a Grade II-listed sanctuary that featured in Daphne du Maurier´s eponymous novel. The architectural masterpiece harmoniously blends Arts and Crafts heritage with simple luxury, offering its own beach for family gatherings in one of Cornwall´s most coveted locations.
Wellness journeys
In a world obsessed with wellness routines and rituals, we often overlook something fundamental: the importance of place. The spaces we inhabit shape how deeply we breathe, how well we sleep, how fully we unwind. From heated pools in Sussex to woodland saunas in Wales, our escapes break free from typical retreat clichés. In these homes, vitality springs from remarkable surroundings, and each offers its own path to renewal.
The homes setting the scene for 2025
As thoughts turn to the year ahead, January is peak season for travel planning, and our homes are filling their 2025 calendars fast. The architect-designed coastal sanctuaries where summer feasts will be shared, period manor houses where fires crackle in centuries-old hearths, and RIBA award-winners with shimmering indoor pools. Give yourself something to look forward to by booking a stay in one of these retreats before they get snapped up.
New Arrival: Artemis
Artemis is a testament to creative daring, where contemporary luxury dances with Victorian grandeur across almost six acres of Jane Austen countryside. Within its walls, a labyrinth of curiosity unfolds, each room a gallery of bespoke furnishings and museum-worthy pieces from the owners´ artistic inner circle. Made for those seeking the extraordinary, Artemis invites you to dive into the pool at dawn, lunch on languid picnics, and gather around the firepit beneath the Dark Sky Reserve´s celestial theatre.
New Arrival: Windfall
At the foothills of the Black Mountains, a converted cider mill stands as an intimate retreat. Within its stone walls, a Plain English kitchen meets Robert Kime fabrics and Welsh textiles under old oak beams. This Dark Sky haven offers wood-fired, starlit soaks in the wilderness, not far from the boutiques and bookshops of Hay-on-Wye—a historic home reimagined for modern romance.
Merry Christmas
As the year draws to a close, we want to thank you—our valued guests, owners, and followers—for being part of our journey.
Last-minute Christmas and NYE availability
As December unfolds, Britain´s finest holiday homes become front-row seats to winter´s performance. From a clifftop signal station for storm-watching in Cornwall to a historic Suffolk estate that glitters in frost, each property offers a privileged view of nature´s seasonal theatre. These exceptional retreats serve as your private box for the spectacle—and a few coveted spaces remain for Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Start 2025 in style
Love it or leave it, New Year’s Eve offers a chance to reflect on the year gone by and embrace the promise of new beginnings. You might revel in hosting dazzling costume parties complete with champagne towers, or prefer candlelit dinners with close friends. However you choose to ring in the New Year, a unique setting will add a touch of magic to your festivities, making it one for the books.
New Arrival: The Black Cabin
Brought to you by the former owner of popular Unique Homestays retreat Alchemy Hill, this noir-hued cabin rises as a modern homage to rural tranquility. Inside, the elegance of Paris´s 6th arrondissement awaits; outside, the Black Mountains unfold. Tucked away on the English-Welsh frontier, a hot tub and infrared sauna serve as a tonic for harried folk. Nearby, the literary town of Hay-on-Wye beckons with its treasure trove of bookshops and events.
New Arrival: Mirana
Weathered barns rise anew in the Helford countryside, where a bold marriage of Cornish stone and glass emerges from a glade. A natural swimming pond glimmers emerald, while steam rises from a wood-fired hot tub. Here, luxury is measured in dappled sunlight and starlit dips.
Where the magic lives
This month, we´re exploring homes where true magic lives—not in picture-perfect styling, but in ancient floorboards and time-worn stones that hold centuries of stories. From a crooked Cornish cottage to a mountain shelter in Kerry, each hideaway blends historic character with modern comfort. These are sanctuaries that speak of simpler times, where luxury means having nothing to prove and everything to discover.
Win a stay for two in Cornwall
We´ve teamed up with SheerLuxe, the UK´s leading online fashion, beauty and lifestyle publisher, to give one lucky person the chance to win a stay at Kailani in Cornwall. This idyllic fisherman´s cottage resides in the postcard-perfect village of Mousehole; complete with serene seaside views, a cosy lounge for stormwatching, and an outdoor William Holland tub.
New Arrival: Thalia
Part eco-warrior, part luxurious retreat, this remarkable modern home in Cornwall’s Camel Valley was designed to be at one with the environment. A family sanctuary, this reimagined smallholding marries Passivhaus principles with local craftsmanship.
New Arrival: Quantum
A barn conversion, but not as you know it. Here is a place where sleek modernity replaces typical rustic charm. Agricultural on the outside, architectural within; all poured concrete, glass and soaring heights. Float across the indoor pool, stargaze from the comfort of bed, or try your hand at golf on your own garden green at this RIBA award-winning home, where a new kind of Norfolk awaits.
The curator´s edit
The act of curation lies within us all and can offer a window into our innermost interests. As Architectural Digest’s Maya Ibbitson recently noted: “Living with things—knick-knacks, hobby collections, the products of trinket shop sifting—creates a narrative of you, one that people can study and glean personality from when they enter your spaces.” Here, we round-up the homes that function, in part or whole, as living museums; spaces where objects, however small, form part of their story.
Endless summer
The UK summer may be drawing to a natural close, but we’re not ready to hibernate just yet. With little persuasion, several homes are extending their season this year to include swimming pool access until the end of October and beyond.
Christmas with Unique Homestays
It’s now less than three short months until advent. That magical time of year when it feels like the good old days again. Mornings spent foraging holly and mistletoe for those final touch decorations; afternoons of scrabble and gingerbread; and evenings fireside in a stupor of port-induced chuckling, Christmas Day gravy bubbling away on the stovetop.
Travel the folkways
There was a time when we revelled in the romance of travel, writing postcards for each hour passed on these scenic routes. We longed for great locomotives; all clacking wheels and hissing steam. Midnight trains from Edinburgh, slow boats across Windermere. Road trips accompanied by bellowing soundtracks and triangular sandwiches. But what is a journey without the "are we nearly there yet" destination, after all?
New Arrival: Tilda
Emerging from the Hampshire landscape like an ink-wash painting, Tilda is a study in harmonious contrast. A noir silhouette against nature´s canvas, this woodland cabin with hot tub nestles in the New Forest; fusing contemporary design with rustic serenity. With rejuvenation in mind, at this restful retreat, the River Allen´s gentle murmur replaces the city´s clamour.
Weddings at Florin
A Victorian fever dream of grey turrets and arched windows frames the backdrop for the most striking of summer wedding soirées at Florin. Here, Welsh tradition and country manor house flamboyance combine... with rooms that unfold like a cabinet of curiosities and enchanting gardens to get lost within. This is a home at which the most bespoke of weddings are crafted, and the most lasting of memories are made.
Could this really be Britain?
For a nation bounded by history and damson hedgerows, bread-and-butter Sunday suppers and stoic stone circles, there´s still places that feel unexpectedly global. Think Hebridean beaches that feel more like the Bahamas and Anglesey coastlines that have a hint of the Atacama.
New Arrival: Seafold
Perched high above Seaton on the Cornish coast, Seafoldstands as a love letter to light and landscape. The house unfolds like origami; an architectural chameleon that shifts with the rhythms of sea and sky, blurring the boundary between home and horizon. Just a five-minute amble from the beach, Seafold emerges from the cliffs as a modern-day sea nymph born of glass and imagination.
New Arrival: The Knapp
With roses and wildflowers in abundance and kitchen garden breakfasts encouraged, wake to kites soaring overhead, and deer grazing on the lawn. At this reimagined historic home, hand-painted ceramics adorn shelves, confiscated masts from pirate ships reside over fireplaces and Hungarian folk furniture passed down through the generations frame rooms. The Knapp may seem typically Cotswold on the outside, but it has global sway within.
Going to the garden and we´re...
This wedding season, it´s all about "the scene". Though there´s much to love about embroidered veils and Swiss meringue, modern lovers know that such sweet details don´t hold a candle to the destination. We´ve seen stately homes and city halls, overseas vows and week-long nuptials; now, secret gardens are having a moment. Here, we present venues for utterly wholesome at-home weddings in Britain´s loveliest lawns: think Father of the Bride on home soil.
From the Unique Marketing team: June highlights
In our new owners´ newsletter, we´re pleased to showcase our press coverage highlights, an overview of social activity, and the top journals and newsletters from June. Here, we shine a light on our new digital and UX partnerships, and the ads that are driving ongoing traffic to our collections.
New arrival – Watermark
In the middle of a South Hams AONB, just paces from one of the prettiest villages in Devon, Watermark is a former boat repair workshop reimagined as a luxe waters’-edge home by a Sydney girl and Surrey boy. Bringing Aussie influence to an utterly English creek, the property is very much in cahoots with the great outdoors; expect canoes instead of cars, children crabbing on the causeway, and chic shacks serving St. Ewe eggs and lemon-thyme wine.
New arrival – Elberta Barn
Most barns install mezzanines that hide their height. Most barns put plasterboard between the studs and rafters. Most barns lose the essence of their pastoral roots. But this is not most barns; Elberta Barn goes to great lengths to uplift its origin story. Set west of Dedham Vale — the prized postcode in the heart of Constable Country, and once a playground for celebrated English landscape painters — this is the rural home of a curator turned landscape designer.
The summer pilgrimage
Ancient traditions of overland travel, innate and deep-rooted: pilgrimages have been part of the fabric of humanity for eons. This month, we’re waymarking home-hopping routes made for hikers who hold a candle for Champagne brunches and private pools. In place of cairns, you’ll find iconic addresses. Where there were tents, it´s terrace suites. Connecting honeypot cities with medieval villages and toll houses with Victorian manors, this is thru-hiking gone luxe.
The secret garden stays
There´s Guernsey lilies and grape hyacinths. Sea lavender, sweet peas, and potatoes that splash about in good olive oil. Gooseberries and fennel and a hoi polloi of herbs: coriander for the salsa, mint for the julep. The gardens are fit to burst. And all this meaning now’s the time to visit those homes with rosemary-scented potagers and apple orchard. But best hurry, before the bees and butterflies beat you to it.
Feeling impulsive?
...and in celebration of such, we are extending our Loyalty Points scheme from now until the end of July. Whatever a summer escape looks like to you - whether it´s five days on a remote Scottish island, two weeks in Cornwall´s wild west, or a weekend wandering The Cotswolds´ rolling hillocks, just the two of you, there´s still time to up sticks with a spontaneous break away.
New property arrival - Nocturne
A wine bar, a classroom, a restaurant, and an antiquarian. This isn’t a listing of what awaits in the market town of Stow-on-the-Wold; it´s a century-by-century chronicling of the many lives of Nocturne. Inside, there´s a grand piano, a movie parlour, a glasshouse hot tub, and a snug that gives all the cosy pubs of the Cotswolds a run for their money. It’s one of those old homes with a happy history. Now, its owners are handing the keys to modern travellers.
New arrival – Carnivàle
Here’s the rules: we spend every sunset at the rum shack, have upside-down cake for breakfast, and never go a day without getting our feet wet. On Isle of Wight time, we make our own commandments. From the creators of Bestival, this limited-edition waterfront pad — with a heated pool, skate ramp, woodfired hot tub, yoga studio, and sauna — is what happens when barefoot island living meets private festival.
New Arrival: Hansa
Turn onto a forested track and wend your way through a woodland in which little trace of realism resides; just you, the birds, and rays shining through the canopy. You’ll come to a little cottage, a gingerbread house adorned with twisting motifs, and a woodfired hot tub hiding between the rhododendrons; the only commodity to separate Hansa from the imaginations of the Brothers Grimm.
New arrival: The Tapestry
When a well-travelled tastemaker and a style savant create their dream home, the result is this 17th-century Cumbrian farmhouse; a daring opus of art, textiles, design, and ceramics that could give any museum a run for its money. A masterclass in curation, come here to live a vibrant life behind walls of whitewashed stone, high up on a tarn.
New arrival - The Gallerist
With Ashdown Forest (of Winnie-the-Pooh fame) and the South Downs to the east and west, Brighton and The Big Smoke to the south and north, these are sought-after coordinates. On them, you´ll find an architectural country house with a lawn pool, private screening room, and violet-veined Calacatta marble from Italy’s Apuan Alps. Pull up a parasol, this is laissez-faire living on tap.
New arrival - Solunar
Mid-century at its core, but reimagined through a tapestry of generations, Solunar was conceived by architect John Crowther in the 60’s, when all was mottled render, and cool, steel lines. Now clad in larch and wrapped in glass — and with its own slipway — this luxury home is a modern-day pilothouse for prospective buccaneers. Come here to make easy work of the art of waterside leisure.
The upgrade - The Viewing Gallery
Guest favourite The Viewing Gallery, a home that looks a lot like a scene from The Notebook, has had an uplift. Now oozing modernity, but still with that signature prairie-style wraparound deck, this handsome clifftop beach house is the antidote to city living: think nautical portholes, seascapes painted by the owners´ daughter, and an enviable location overlooking Portreath Beach.
Limited availability - Felicity Park
We´re welcoming back the daringly fun and flamboyantly colourful Felicity Park to our Limited Edition collection. Available for six weeks of summer only, this luxe estate in Hampshire is an original Victorian red brick that´s been turned into a playful château; a place where wildflowers border formal gardens, bohemian umbrellas shade the heated pool, and pompoms swing in the orangery.
Safari on home soil
Safari has shaped a global identity all of its own, one that extends beyond the deltas and deserts of the Okavango and Kalahari. Over time, it has come to encompass a thicket of travel experiences outside of Africa. From Polperro to Pembs, we’re rounding up our big five: properties with a front-row seat to all that’s wildlife and wilderness.
The darling homes of May
Rituals of "the long weekend" are a thing of family folklore. We poach eggs and visit lighthouses and never have a lunch that´s not a picnic. We take country walks, go more than ankle-deep in the sea, and hire Cornish Shrimpers with red sails and river maps. From storybook cottages to stately manors, island homes to cabins that teeter on cliff edges, where will you spend your Maycation?
New arrival - Salterton
A period home with a modern edit, this Victorian manor has all the hallmarks of the era. But within its fine rooms, there’s just enough newness to anchor Salterton in a century of design and innovation: a movie projector, maybe the most Upper East Side bathroom suite in the county, and a courtyard pool within walking distance of the mussels and burrata of Port Isaac (of Doc Martin fame).
New arrival - Enkel
Forest bathers, welcome. Set on five acres of subtle gardens near Southwold, this Suffolk pavilion is the poster child for transitional design, evoking the feeling of being out among the moss and meadowlands even when sipping coconut water in the studio sauna. Discerning. Grown-up. Serene. Come here to live in the hush of the silent travel trend; think new-wave writers´ retreat meets digital detox.
New arrival - Nyssa
Owned by a bohème and a music man, Nyssa is "positive energy architecture" embodied; a lesson in restorative design that takes inspiration from the meditative retreats of Morocco. A rustic sanctuary with a 1970s twist, this luxury farmhouse – with its extravagant LA-worthy yoga studio, ice bath, sauna, and hot tub – makes easy work of relaxation. Call it the eighth chakra.
A pool of one´s own
Inspired by Virginia Woolf´s essay on liberty, we’re uncovering a world where the pursuit of personal space goes beyond four walls – not a room of one’s own, but a pool of one’s own. You’ll find them in the real Hundred Acre Wood, close to the Cornish village that A-listers love, and high on the Jurassic Coast; all proof that you needn’t travel past Britain´s borders to lounge by the waters’ edge.
Any day stays
Gone are the days of poring over family calendars, swapping swim meets, and cancelling conferences, just to meet the check-in criteria. As far as we’re concerned, your holiday home should flex to suit your schedule, not the other way around. So... arrive any day, leave whenever you like (so long as you bed in for at least two nights), and do away with the rigidity of set arrival and departure days.
You need a break
In case you need a reminder, these are the lighter days you´ve been waiting for, so don´t waste them; pack a case, prep a road-tripping playlist, and browse our collection of extraordinary homes with nick-of-time availability. Dispel the myth that group gatherings require months of careful planning, and adopt a carefree approach to family travel, from clifftop nooks to modern estates in ancient woodlands.
Finding the family tree
Put away in the attic, there is a cardboard box; and in the box, there is a photograph; and in the photograph is a secret. No shutter fast enough to capture it. No dark room that could process it. Something that could never be shrunk to a 3:2 aspect ratio. We’re in pursuit of time travel; finding places made for the inner child, for sitting cross-legged with sister in the garden, and – with any luck – arriving to mum and dad waving in the doorway. One of life’s great nostalgias is rooted in a falsehood. You can go home again.
The Newlywed Times
From the caricatured Cornish cottage made for "Sarah Jessica Parker meets Shakespeare" micro-weddings to the Cotswolds estate with all the free-wheeling pluckiness of a Mad Hatter banquet, these venues might just be the best-kept secrets on the British wedding scene. This year, plan the kind of wedding you wish you were invited to.
New property arrival - Kailani
Through helter-skelter lanes, beneath rainbow lanterns strung along the harbour wall, and past granite cottages with tiny fisher-folk doors, Kailani sits against the sea at the outer reaches of Mousehole. Beyond the boundaries, you´ll discover seafood bars, artisanal bakeries, and farm shops stocked with scones and apple cider. But inside, it´s all natural linen and sinking sofas; call it Cornish klys.
The year of AI*
It´s the year of AI, but not the one you might´ve imagined. Our portfolio is an alphabet soup of tangible marvels: manors designed by king’s architects, true-as-can-be treehouses, and castles where every surface is printed and patterned. Every inch of them is real and human-made. Craft is who we are, trust is what we offer... and from cloister to cantilever, nothing about us is artificial. Artificial Intelligence, meet Architectural Integrity.
Oh, the places you´ll go
As the season for twinkling lights and not-so-silent nights comes to a close, and all about are swirling notions of what 2024 might bring, we become a collective of hopeful look-aheaders. Here´s your annual reminder that these are the good old days. So before life gets in the way, while there’s still tea in the pot and piles of shortbread to fuel the search, we invite you to indulge in the thrill of the finding...
2025 - 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013
