South West England

The South West is the traditional heartland of the UK self-catering cottage — Cornwall and Devon between them account for more self-catering properties than almost anywhere else in the country, with Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire filling out the rest of the region.

Cornwall's appeal is almost entirely coastal — fishing villages like Mevagissey and Falmouth, the surf beaches around Newquay, and the far tip of the peninsula around Penzance and St Ives — but it's a big county, and traffic on the main roads in peak summer weeks is a genuine consideration when picking a base. Devon splits fairly neatly between a north coast (Barnstaple, Ilfracombe) and a south coast (Torquay, Salcombe), with Dartmoor and Exmoor giving an inland, walking-focused alternative to the beaches. Dorset's Jurassic Coast and market towns like Dorchester and Bridport offer a quieter, less crowded version of the same coastal appeal, generally with an easier drive from London and the South East.

Further inland, Gloucestershire (the Cotswolds), Somerset and Wiltshire are less about the coast and more about honey-stone villages, market towns and countryside walking — a good option if a beach isn't the priority, or as a stopover on the way further west.

When to go

The coastal counties get genuinely busy in the summer school holidays, and prices and availability both reflect it — booking well ahead matters more here than almost anywhere else in the UK. Spring and early autumn give a quieter, cheaper version of much the same scenery.