Whether you’re looking for a festive season treat or an escape 
at any time of year, Britain has the perfect retreat. Andrea Spain reports

A candlelit bathroom at Gidleigh Park

AS THE EVENINGS draw in around Britain, there’s nothing nicer than heading back to somewhere cosy after a day out and about exploring, whether to settle with a cup of tea in front of a real log fire at a country house hotel or returning to a remote holiday cottage tucked away in the countryside, far from the madding crowd. These hideaways can also make the perfect place to spend the holidays season: most country house hotels offer Christmas or New Year packages, where you can leave your cares (and the cooking of the turkey) at home and join a house party, enjoying the county life.

Michelin cuisine at Gidleigh Park

One such place is Gidleigh Park (4-star), the country house hotel on Dartmoor in Devon. You can spend Christmas or New Year here, or a relaxing break at any time of year. From Chagford, the drive takes you up hills and down valleys, through classic Devon lanes.You eventually start to wonder if you’re on the right route, then, facing you, is a sign announcing Gidleigh Park, with “Keep heart, you’re still en route”. A sure sign of a hideaway hotel. Soon you’re driving into the hotel’s grounds.

An Edwardian hideaway on Dartmoor

A bridge takes you across the North Teign River and, ahead on the hillside, sits the Edwardian house, with, when weather allows, guests sitting on the terrace enjoying afternoon tea and the views across to Nattadon and Meldon hills. Owners Christina and Andrew Brownsword have recently refurbished the house, adding their own touches to expressly make the house feel “more like you have come home than gone away”. I wish my home were fortunate enough to benefit from the two-Michelin star/four rosette cuisine of top chef Michael Caines. And if only I had views of Devon hills from a luxurious spa suite in my bedroom. The informal ambience encourages you to sit and relax but, if you want a spot of exercise to justify your dinner, there’s a 18-hole putting course designed by Peter Allis, a tennis court, or you can don your walking boots and head out to find the ancient stone circle nearby on the wild Dartmoor National Park moorland.

Escape to the Lakes at Linthwaite House

At the heart of another National Park – the Lake District – is Linthwaite House Hotel (3-star). Voted “Most Excellent Country House Hotel 2007” by Johansens, Linthwaite boasts a dramatic hilltop setting from which you can get a glimpse of Lake Windermere. Days here are spent out and about exploring the glorious lakelands by foot or by bike but come evening, and with weary legs, nothing beats sinking into one of the cosy sofas in the lounge next to the log fire or gazing out from the conservatory at the twinkling lights below.

Soak in the views at Linthwaite House

This is also the perfect spot from which to enjoy an evening pre-dinner drink before you make your way through to the dining room to sample chef Richard Kearsley’s fine regional fare. Dessert lover? Opt for the lemon meringue pie with Earl Grey tea ice cream.

Call it a day by retiring to any of the lovely contemporarily-designed rooms: the Loft Suite is the ultimate bolthole. With its own entrance, open plan lounge and dining area, kingsize bed and huge freestanding 
double bath, this suite even comes with your own telescope for stargazing.

The Great Hall at Combe House Hotel

Ken and Ruth Hunt’s Combe House Hotel (3-star), is a hideaway hotel east of Exeter, also at the end of a long drive through a country estate. Pass through thatched Gittisham village and, at the entrance to the estate, the hotel has the newly restored Combe Thatch Cottage – a romantic hideaway for two with its own private walled garden. Keep on along the drive, taking care of the Arabian horses that roam through the grounds, to the hotel proper – a charming Grade I Elizabethan Manor. Enter through the large oak door into the welcoming Great Hall with its blazing log fire. There are just 16 bedrooms and it’s also a fine place for the holiday season.

Seiont Manor in the Snowdonia foothill

Wales, with its dramatic scenery and wild coastline, is a treasure trove of retreats. Head to the foothills of Snowdonia to Seiont Manor (3-star), one of the Handpicked Hotels and once a working farmstead. It’s set in 150 acres on the River Seiont and bedrooms have balconies or private terraces giving lovely views.

Laura Ashley fabrics at Llangoed Hall

Winter wonderland at Pen-y-Dyffryn

Lucknam Park (5-star), while a great base from which to explore Bath, is also a fabulous retreat, with Michelin star chef, Hywel Jones, and a recently opened spa. The spa is set in
a walled garden: here you can properly escape 
the hustle and bustle by in the various pools, thermal cabins and treatment rooms – including one double – or why not explore the hotel’s 500 acres on horseback – the Equestrian Centre has 30 horses and ponies suitable for all levels.

Build a snowman at Ardanaiseig

Another hotel hideaway is Ardanaiseig (4-star), in the Western Highlands. A country house, built, in 1834, in the Scottish Baronial manner for Colonel Archibald Campbell in on a peninsula jutting out into Loch Awe, the hotel is commended by the Good Hotel Guide 2008 for its “Delightful quirkiness and away-from-it-all allure”.

Rescuing historic buildings and converting them into holiday lets is what the charity, the Landmark Trust, is all about. It has many quirky hideways on its books. There are Gothic pavilions on country estates, water towers in the countryside, even a Pigsty (a Palladian-style building with stunning views over Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire). And for literary fans, there’s a granite cottage on Frenchman’s Creek in Daphne du Maurier country.

Choosing self-catering does indeed open up a treasure trove of hideaway possibilities. The Ruin (4-star), for example, sits by Loch Stuart on the Ardnamurchan peninsula in Scotland. It is one of the Lochside Follies holiday cottages offered by Richard and Lois Livett near their home and gives two guests views for miles across the loch, with no other buildings in sight.

The Ducket: a towering holiday home

Travel south to Northumberland, where Ross Cottages offer a Grade II-listed, 18th-century former dovecote, The Ducket (5-star), which sits on its own by the Heritage Coast, with views to the Cheviot Hills on one side and to the sea on the other. This fairytale tower is an exquisite retreat for two on five floors, with a winding staircase between each room.

Holiday cottages with a twist are to be found at some of the Von Essen hotels (AA Hotel Group of the Year). There are eight luxury hideaways, in the hotels’ grounds, for those wanting the privacy of separate accommodation but with access to the luxury facilities of the hotels. It’s the best of both worlds. There’s plenty of history to choose from here, too: Cliveden (5-star), home to three Dukes, an Earl and Frederick Prince of Wales, and later to the socialite Astor family, has a cottage for six right down beside the River Thames while, at the Tudor Thornbury Castle (4-star) in Gloucestershire, you can stay in the gatehouse.

Find out more

AND WHY NOT TRY

•  Fairyhill (5-star): Gower. A magical 18th-century house with two-rosette restaurant. Set in 24 acres of parkland, tucked away on the glorious Gower peninsula in south Wales. Tel: (01792) 390139; www.fairyhill.net.

•  Rose and Crown at Romaldkirk (5-star): Teesdale, Co Durham. 18th-century inn in the middle of three village greens (overlooking the stocks and waterpump) in the pretty and peaceful village of Romaldkirk, with two rosette dining. A perfect base for exploring the moors and dales of the 
North Pennine Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Tel: (01833) 650213; www.rose-and-crown.co.uk.

•  Titchwell Manor Hotel (3-star):  Nr Brancaster, Norfolk. 
A smart retreat with two-rosette dining, and great views, overlooking the marshes and sea on the North Norfolk coastline. Stroll along Holkham Beach to relive Gwyneth Paltrow’s final scene in Shakespeare in Love. Three-
night Christmas package available. Tel: (01485) 210221; www.titchwellmanor.com.

• Broad Bay House (5-star): Just a few miles north of Stornaway in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Stylish and comfortable, modern guesthouse with stunning location with direct access to the shore and with views of the Scottish Highlands across the Minch. Award-winning food based on fresh local fish, meat and game. Tel: (01851) 820990; www.broadbayhouse.co.uk. 

• Austwick Hall (5-star): Austwick, near Settle, Lancashire. An historic manor set in extensive gardens, perched above the village. It's a wooded oasis surrounded by the breathtaking scenery of the Yorkshire Dales and a great base for local Wainwright walks. Tel: (015242) 51794; www.austwickhall.co.uk.