This 1930s weatherboard house turned gently retro holiday cottage – with huge, deckchair-lined terrace – is great for a grown-up summer gathering but it's also a hit with families … Photograph: PR
One room has double bunks and there's also a games room, trampoline and large garden. The real attraction, though, is that it's only a few minutes' walk over the dunes to magnificent Camber Sands.
• 01797 225202, camberholidaycottages.co.uk. From £980 a week. Sleeps 10 Photograph: Sarah Weal
If Mrs Tiggy-Winkle were to turn interior designer, this is the kind of cottage she might create. Outside there's a pretty private courtyard with a table and chairs and a lawn that's occasionally shared with the owners (whose vegetable beds can be raided, within reason, during your stay). Great walking can be had in the East Sussex High Weald and it's a good choice for car-free couples; on the outskirts of Buxted it can be reached by direct train from London in just over an hour … Photograph: PR
Part of a former convent, it sleeps two, and its dolls-house dimensions encompass a light but cosy lounge (with open fire and snug sofa), a small, country-style kitchen, a sunny bedroom and modern bathroom.
• 01825 732620, eastsussexholidaycottages.co.uk. From £320 a week Photograph: PR
Built to house the horses once used to help pump water up from a well beneath the building, this is now a stylish, open-plan holiday cottage for two ... Photograph: PR
It's handy for walks in the Ashdown Forest and for trips to Lewes and Tunbridge Wells. Or just relax in cosy, wooden-floored comfort on its L-shaped sofa. One word of caution: you have to clamber up a ladder to reach the mezzanine bedroom, so it's not for the unsteady.
• 01227 464958, mulberrycottages.com. From £350 a week Photograph: PR
Given that it was designed by interiors guru Atlanta Bartlett, it's no surprise that this luxury wooden cabin near Winchelsea beach, outside Rye, is seriously stylish. It's also typical of her relaxed, whitewashed look, with painted floorboards, distressed wooden doors and vintage mirrors … Photograph: PR
Sleeping up to 10, its double-height ceiling means that even with a full house it doesn't feel cramped.
• 01797 344077, homeaway.co.uk. From £1,000 a week Photograph: PR
A showman's carriage dating from 1894 came to rest in Bodiam, and has plenty of original antique bling, from a wood-panelled lounge, complete with tiled and carved fireplace and elaborately painted ceiling, to a box bed surrounded by blowsy painted floral panels … Photograph: PR
The facilities are brought up to date with a neighbouring thatched kitchen and separate shower room. Foodies needn't always eat in, though; the Michelin-starred Curlew is just down the road.
• 01580 860840, bramleyandteal.co.uk. From £450 a week. Sleeps two Photograph: PR
