For kin
One day they’ll say, “When we were kids, we found a place to call home, a family cottage that became a midwinter fortress. The floor was lava, and there were owls each night, and always crumpets at breakfast.”
Or, something like that, anyway.
In places where lochside retreats are eclipsed by peasouper fogs, and sea-crafted gales are carried in on the wings of sooty shearwaters, your motley crew (and the dogs, too) will always be found together. Here’s to time away with your homefolk, to tallying up the seconds between lightning flashes and thunder claps, and the careful cherry-picking of Monopoly tokens.
These weathered seasons are for luxury hideaways. For teaching the children the cosy curriculum: discovering herbs in the garden at dawn, squeezing lemon wedges over cast-iron puffed pancakes at lunch, and melting boiled sweets into stained glass sugar cookies for last lesson. What you feel most has no name but cinnamon, blankets, puzzles, chuckles, and rivers of honey flowing from the drizzler.
Aquila
Bampton, The Lake District, Cumbria, UK
Aquila is a modernist lake house with a seductively clandestine appeal, set right on the sparkling Haweswater shoreline within the tarns and fells of the Mardale Valley.
Sleeps: Up to 6 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,950 per week, £1,450 per short break
The Tapestry
Underbarrow, The Lake District, Cumbria, UK
This luxury 17th-century farmhouse offers a curated stay in Underbarrow in the Lake District; where an unexpected medley of colour and texture combine to create The Tapestry.
Sleeps: Up to 8 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 guests
From: £2,750 per week, £2,095 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Skyline
Kendal, Staveley, The Lake District, Cumbria, UK
Perched high above the village of Staveley with breath-taking views across the valley, Skyline is a truly unique luxury property with tennis court, grand piano and 11 acres of woodland.
Sleeps: Up to 10 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 guests
From: £3,695 per week, £2,795 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome on prior request
Features: Tennis court, Steinway grand piano, hot tub hire is available (by prior arrangement)
