Baby-friendly holidays in the UK
These are places put together with littles in mind: for gatherings with grandparents-turned-sitters, or star-crossed babymooners seeking slumber. With blocks and books, cots and stairgates, luxury baby-friendly holidays in the UK can only happen in homes as curated as these.
You might be surrounded by tiny socks, wooden rattles, and bassinet blankets, but these are the days when memories are made. British babymooners, now is the time to retreat to a luxury family-friendly home in the country and make flump on a miles-deep sofa ‘til long past lunchtime. We know that baby-friendly holidays in the UK come with a longer checklist, so whether you're new to the parenting thing or three children in, these homes are kitted out for all your little one's needs; think cots and stairgates, wooden toys and story books, and cottages so close to the coast that the ocean soundscape will send them to slumber.
Perhaps now is the time for a big group gathering to introduce a little bundle to the whole clan? With grandparents chomping at the bit to have their turn holding the bottle, and siblings waiting in the wings with fairytales and fables up their sleeves, there's nothing like having all hands on deck to calm the laser-like focus that tiny babies bring. At these luxurious country houses, you'll have the option to indulge in cold water therapy in wild swimming lakes, embrace all the healing benefits of the sauna, or simply slink off for an early supper by the garden pizza oven while the big cousins do cot-side duties in the cinema room.
Idlewylde
Machynlleth, Snowdonia, Wales, UK
From the sweet seclusion to mountain vistas, hot tub to glittering skies uninterrupted by city lights, Idlewylde is an impossibly romantic escape for couples in North Wales.
Sleeps: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,550 per week, £1,150 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome, or three on prior request
Features: Hot tub
The Cable Hut
Aberbach, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
The Cable Hut nestles between the remote beaches of Abermawr and Aberbach in South Wales. Set beside a single track road within metres of the Pembrokeshire coast path, a true castaway experience awaits from the moment of arrival.
Sleeps: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,295 per week, £995 per short break
Pets: One large or two small well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Hot tub
Eirianfa
Llanbedr-Dyffryn-Clwyd, Ruthin, Wales, UK
Cradled within a peaceful valley near Ruthin, this heart-stirring luxury cottage in Denbighshire boasts a games room with hot tub and a private lake, all set within 17 acres in North Wales.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
From: £1,995 per week, £1,450 per short break
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
Pets: One medium or two small well-behaved dogs are welcome on prior request
Features: Hot tub, bar, 50" TV, pool table, private lake
Tincture
Llanwrtyd Wells, Cambrian Mountains, Powys, Wales, UK
A fairytale, off-grid cottage riding on the tides of nature in the heart of Wales' wild and little-discovered Cambrian Mountains.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
From: £1,995 per week, £1,495 per short break
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
White Beach Cove
Beaumaris, Isle of Anglesey, Wales, UK
A traditional Welsh cottage nestled into Anglesey’s remote north coast, White Beach Cove is an adventurer’s delight hidden in one of the UK's wildest corners.
Sleeps: Up to 5 guests
From: £1,750 per week, £1,350 per short break
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
Pets: Three well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Hot tub, electric car charging point, portable air conditioning unit
Smokehouse Cottage
Newgale, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
A white stone dot tucked beneath the hills, discover a piece of Wales' wild magic at this secluded bolthole on the Pembrokeshire coast. Formerly a smokery, this reclaimed fisherman’s cottage has been cleverly reinvented to create an authentic refuge hideaway.
Sleeps: Up to 6 guests
From: £2,095 per week, £2,195 per short break
Pets: One small to medium well-behaved dog is welcome
Features: Wood-fired hot tub (available autumn and winter months on prior request), outdoor shower for surfers
The Pandy House
Rowen, Conwy, Snowdonia, Wales, UK
Accessed via a private bridge crossing the Afon Roe, in a world of its own, this mill turned luxury family home in Snowdonia has a personality as big as the national park itself. A perfect cacophony of colour, flamboyance and witty details.
Sleeps: Up to 10 guests (8 adults and 2 children)
From: £3,850 per week, £2,895 per short break
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 guests
Pets: One well-behaved dog is welcome
Features: Wood-fired hot tub, summer house games room, outdoor kitchen area
Seren Mor
Newport, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
Nestled on the green cliffs of the Pembrokeshire coast, this luxury self-catering home in Wales is the perfect family retreat.
Sleeps: Up to 10 guests
From: £3,550 per week
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 guests
Pets: One well-behaved dog is welcome
Features: Kayaks, surf boards and a private path directly onto the beach
Hiraeth
Nevern Valley, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
On a forested plot in Pembrokeshire’s backcountry, there’s a pair of sister properties with identities of their own; one traditional milk-white cottage, one soot-black gabled bothy, more Scandi health club than Welsh homestead.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests (8 adult and 4 children)
From: £3,450 per week, £2,595 per short break
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 guests
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome, or three on prior request
Features: Sauna, outdoor bath, fire pit and river hammock
Huckleberry
Nevern Valley, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
Built from old stone and shaped by new hands, Huckleberry is a luxury country cottage with a hot tub and hammock, bringing Greek notions to the hills of Pembrokeshire, where city folk and foragers come to remember how life is supposed to be lived.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests
From: £4,150 per week, £3,150 per short break
Alternative Group Option: Up to 8 guests
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome, or three on prior request
Features: Hot tub, luxury Thai massage room, TV snug, snooker table, outdoor kitchen, fire pit and river hammock
Charity
Black Mountains, Herefordshire, UK
Modern rusticity, clever artistry and divine seclusion combine to make Charity the ultimate wild retreat for friends and family gatherings; set down a winding mountain road in the Olchon Valley near the Brecon Beacons.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests
From: £3,395 per week, £2,550 per short break
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 guests
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Wood-fired hot tub, sauna, outdoor shower, outdoor pizza oven, table tennis, snooker room, cinema barn and badminton lawn
The Wilds
Crickhowell, Brecon Beacons, Wales, UK
This family home sat beneath the peaks of the Brecon Beacons has been sympathetically renovated into a countrified yet stylish abode, complete with a hot tub on the private sun terrace.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests
From: £3,595 per week, £2,750 per short break
Alternative Group Option: Up to 8 guests
Pets: One well-behaved dog is welcome
Features: Hot tub
Florin
Aberaeron, Ceredigion, Wales, UK
A beautifully-appointed stylish large country house set in five acres of magical gardens near Aberaeron, Ceredigion. A luxury home for family celebrations with plenty of space for several generations to unwind.
Sleeps: Up to 14 guests
From: £3,850 per week, £3,150 per short break
Alternative Group Option: Up to 10 guests
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome, a third is welcome on prior request
Features: Hot tub, treehouse for children, library with pool table, modern garden house with pizza oven
Celestia
Talybont-on-usk, Brecon Beacons, Wales, UK
Resting on an open clearing beneath the flat-topped peaks of the Brecon Beacons and cocooned by a tangle of woodland, this luxury self-catering farmhouse is an ode to mountain living in remote south Wales.
Sleeps: Up to 14 guests (10 adults and 4 children)
From: £3,295 per week, £2,595 per short break
Alternative Group Option: Up to 8 guests
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Pool table, Steinway piano, fire pit with grill, and stargazing bowl
The Milk Wood
Nevern Valley, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
Deep within the Nevern Valley, there is an ancient sessile oak wood; and in the wood, there is a clearing; and in the clearing is a secret. A Welsh family estate comprised of four luxury country cottages, with a hot tub, sauna, and outdoor bath.
Sleeps: Up to 24 guests (20 adults and 4 children)
From: £7,600 per week, £5,745 per short break
Pets: Four well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Hot tub, luxury Thai massage room, sauna, TV snug, snooker table, outdoor kitchen, outdoor bath, fire pit, river hammock and sauna
