A dapper little tin church salvaged from a nearby village and reconstructed in the arboretum of the Walcot Hall estate, The Chapel is now in use as a holiday cottage …
Photograph: sabinaruber-photographer.com
Sleeping four, it has a cosy wood-lined interior, bedrooms accessed via a spiral staircase and secluded arboreal location (it's a 450m walk to the nearest parking area) there's a touch of Hansel and Gretel about it. Fortunately, however, you're more likely to hear the cackle of pheasants than witches during a stay here.
• +1588 680570, walcothall.com. From £525 a week Photograph: PR
Up close this pint-sized hideaway, sleeping two, looks like the result of an architectural meltdown. Despite its tiny scale its builders managed to cram in a crenelated mock church tower, a stepped gable end, a partially thatched roof and a brick and timber cottage … Photograph: PR
Happily the interior is simpler, with an oak and granite kitchen, a sitting room with wood-burning stove, shower room and bedroom. If you fancy collecting your own eggs for breakfast, the owners will also loan you a portable chicken coop.
• +1747 828170, hideaways.co.uk. From £387 a week Photograph: PR
One of three holiday cottages on the Pitchford Estate, this single-storey barn conversion sleeps four. Antique furniture aside it is resolutely modern, with underfloor heating, an airy wood-panelled living area, en suite CP Hart bathrooms to both the double and the twin bedroom, and a sleek kitchen … Photograph: PR
It looks out onto what is thought to be the world's oldest treehouse (dating back to at least 1692, this is sadly off limits to the public, including guests staying at the barn). Head into historic Shrewsbury for a stroll by the river and lunch at the Lion + Pheasant then stock up on local groceries at the Battlefield 1403 farm shop.
• 0845 268 0760, cottages4you.co.uk. From £332 for three nights. Photograph: PR
It may look a bit Little House on the Prairie on the outside but this 18th-century farmstead, sleeping 11, is every inch smart country retreat on the inside. Its flagstone open-plan living and dining room is the focus of the building, with a huge open fire at one end …
Photograph: John Perry/actonscott.com
There's also a swish kitchen and four bedrooms (snorers can be banished to a little log cabin, 35m from the lodge, sleeping two more). Its location on the Acton Scott Estate, a historic working farm with plenty of events and activities, makes it especially good for families.
• 0845 268 0785, english-country-cottages.co.uk. From £805 a week
Photograph: John Perry/actonscott.com
Designed in the late 18th century as an architectural ornament, teahouse and vantage point, this folly turned cottage is set in the whimsically named Badger Dingle, a 40-acre playground of sandstone chasms and wooded ravines created by a pupil of Capability Brown …
Photograph: bronwyn@vivat-trust.org
Sleeping two, the interior is decorated with gilt-framed ornithological prints, antique furniture and traditional woven rugs. Kitchen-diner and antiques-filled bedroom are downstairs from a sitting room with glass doors to a colonnaded balcony, the perfect perch to sit and enjoy some serenity.
• 0845 090 0194, vivat-trust.org. From £697 a week
Photograph: bronwyn@vivat-trust.org
